DOT-6 names 10 most visited places in Western Visayas

The Department of Tourism (DOT-6) has released a list of top 10 destinations in Western Visayas for local and foreign travelers.

Malay, Aklan, where the famous Boracay Island is located, topped the list with two million tourist arrivals  last year.

Iloilo City ranked second with 886, 000 visitors. Aside from its world-class Dinagyang Festival, the city is also known as a gastronomic hotpot.

Bacolod City, dubbed as the City of Smiles, came in third with 780, 000 tourist arrivals, followed by Sipalay City in Negros Occidental (218,000) and Roxas City in Capiz (152,000).

Nueva Valencia in Guimaras was the sixth most visited place in the region with 98,000 tourist arrivals, followed by San Carlos City in Negros Occidental (85 000) and Kalibo in Aklan (79 000)

Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental took the ninth spot with 77, 000 tourist arrivals and the 10th spot was occupied by Carles in Iloilo province with 70,000 tourist arrivals.

The list was presented by DOT-6 assistant regional director Phoebe Zelie C. Areño on Tuesday, July 9.IMT

REPORTING by Steffany Suecong, West Visayas State University College of Communication intern; EDITING by Reymar Latoza