by RONQUILLO C. TOLENTINO
Cong. Florencio T. Miraflores, Governor Carlito S. Marquez, other Aklan leaders and tourism stakeholders welcome the proposed expansion and improvement of the Caticlan Airport to accommodate bigger and more planes.
Cong. Miraflores sees the project as the solution to the problem of accessibility of Boracay Island tourists, the main bulk of whom has to pass thru the Kalibo Airport and travel by land for one and one half hours to get to Caticlan, jump-off point to the island.
Caticlan airport’s present and obsolete facilities and short runway can allow the landing of only small airplanes.
Governor Marquez said that it is the lack of world-class transport that has hindered the full development of our country’s tourism industry such that although Boracay Island has invariably been acknowledged as the world’s No. 1 beach, the Philippines in a recent report ranked No. 86th only among tourist destinations in Southeast Asia.
The governor who has prioritized tourism as Aklan’s development thrust added that Boracay Island as one of the major destinations of the Philippines should be given special attention by the national government.
He said that the drawing power of Boracay Island has already been proven these many years and should, therefore, take precedence in the use of our scant resources for tourism development.
The two Aklan leaders said, they will seek the help of the President in fast tracking the Caticlan Airport project. /MP
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