Tourists’ arrival in the province hit a remarkably high level of 25 percent last year which affirms  that Bohol tourism is asserting its prime, even nearly doubling the region’s total gain, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

The significant uptrend considered indicative of a truly gaining recovery after some major natural disasters can hopefully hit a record mark as the projection for the region in 2016, a presidential election year, is “quite high.”

Data showed that Bohol’s tourists’ arrival of 25%  is way above as compared to the count for the entire Central Visayas that posted an increase of only 13.6%, although the latter is still considered remarkable.

Tourism industry was included in the highlights of the 2015 Central Visayas Regional Economic Situation reported during the full-body meeting of the Regional Development Council (RDC-7) led by its chairman, Gov. Edgar Chatto, at the Montebello Villa Hotel in Cebu City on Friday.

It was also this year’s first joint quarterly meeting of the influential council with the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC-7), which was led by Philippine National Police (PNP) Reg’l. Dir. Manuel Gaerlan in lieu of its chairman, Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III.

“We are hopeful,” Department of Tourism (DOT) Reg’l. Dir. Rowena Montecillo said of the expected heavier influx of tourists to Bohol and other Central Visayas destinations, “because the target this year is 5.8 million visitors.”

“If we get the cooperation of all to submit their reports on tourists’ arrivals, we are positive to that we will hit the target,” Montecuillo yesterday said .

Central Visays registered some 4.5 million visitors in 2015, surpassing the 4.4 million target which was already 10.7% more than the arrival in 2014.

Bohol’s promotion will get further aggressive during this coming June’s Asian Premium Tourism Mart for “high-end” destinations, according to Bohl Tourism Office head Jospehine Cabarrus.

This will necessarily follow Bohol’s “sold-out” participation to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum or ATF—as it further included the China, Korea and Japan markets last January.