The Hundred Islands National Park (HINP) here recorded over 3,000 tourist arrivals on weekends, a boost to the tourism industry here amid the pandemic.

In a phone interview on Monday, city tourism officer Miguel Sison said they have recorded 32,682 tourist arrivals in the HINP from March 1 to 20 this year with a gross income of PHP1.9 million.

“I am positive we could reach over PHP2 million income this month,” he said.

Sison said tourists mostly from Nueva Ecija, Vizcaya, and Cavite keep coming to the HINP since the province was placed under Alert Level 1.

“We also held (a) tourism food expo to further promote HINP and the whole of Alaminos City,” he added.

Sison said boat fee and other fees remain the same despite the increase in the cost of petroleum products.

“Our rates were under an ordinance so it is intact,” he said.

Meanwhile, the City Tourism Office is preparing for the upcoming Holy Week when more tourists are expected to flock to the HINP.

“We will be implementing the pick-and-drop scheme, wherein tourists are brought to three islands and they will choose which island they will stay (the) whole day and the boatmen will just pick them up afterwards,” Sison said, adding this ensures they will have sufficient boats for the tourists. (PNA)