MALAY, Aklan, Philippines — Tourist arrivals in world famous Boracay Island has grown by almost 14% in the first quarter of 2011.

According to the latest data of the Department of Tourism (DoT 6), a total of 430,383 tourists flocked to the country’s premier beach destination from January to May 2011.

This represents a 14 percent increase in arrivals compared to the number of tourists in the first quarter of 2010. From January to May in 2010, 378,694 tourists visited the island.

Atty. Helen Catalbas, DoT 6 assistant regional director, noted the rise of domestic tourism. Approximately 80 percent of tourists flocking to Boracay in the last few years are Filipinos.

“This simply shows the propensity of Filipinos to travel and an indication that they have disposable income,” Catalbas said.

Domestic tourists outnumbered foreigners by 122,370 during the first quarter of this year. A total of 267,970 Filipino tourists visited Boracay while there were only 145,600 foreign tourists.

“While we are continually trying to attract foreign tourists, we welcome this trend as it is a good indication that regional tourism is strong and can be sustained through domestic tourism,” Catalbas added.

Tourism receipts for the first quarter of 2011 registered at P7.9 billion.

President Benigno S. Aquino III has earlier disclosed that Boracay can earn as much as P322.5 billion with the development of the new Caticlan Airport.