DUBAI: El Nido, one of the top three must-sees in Palawan, along with Puerto Princesa City and Coron, has turned to a year-round, peak-season destination, registering 144,250 tourist arrivals in 2017 from 10,750 in 1997.
Tourist arrivals in El Nido have grown exponentially in the past 20 years. Municipal tourism data showed that from 10,749 tourists in 1997, the number of visitors reached 144,257 in 2017. Annual growth in tourist arrivals has not gone below 15% since 2011.
As such, local authorities have been taking steps to ensure that the place, famous for white-sand beaches, coral reefs and limestone cliffs, remains free from illegal activities like women and children trafficking – which usually hound top tourism spots.
El Nido is currently ranked fourth in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler‘s list of “20 Most Beautiful Beaches in the World.”
CNN has reportedly called it the Best Beach and Island destination in the Philippines owing to its “extraordinary natural splendor and ecosystem.”
To this end, Palawan News, a weekly publication which is also available online, recently reported that the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific (CAT-WP) is moving to ensure that staff and personnel of organizations or offices intended to assist women and children must be well-trained to provide appropriate support to them and make them aware of their rights.
