Boracay Island, in central Philippines’ Aklan province, is expected to become the country’s cruise destination, a local official said on Wednesday.

With the arrival of the first large Caribbean Cruise Ship scheduled on October 27, the Aklan provincial government is making necessary preparations to turn this world-famous sea resort into a new cruise destination in central Philippines, said Niven Maquirang, an Aklan Jetty Port administrator.

“We are anticipating the arrival of Caribbean cruise ship which carries some 2,500 Asian tourists. In addition, the province has already received notices of several cruise ships for 2013,” Maquirang said.

The preparation is to ensure that tourists would enjoy their stay in the island in line with the Department of Tourism’s thrusts ‘Its More Fun In the Philippines’, he said.

“Tourists to Boracay will be provided with different tourism packages depending on their varied interests. Some will be organized for an island hopping, others will be provided with serves of golf and shopping,” Maquirang added.

Boracay Island has more than a dozen unique beaches and many coves. Most of these beaches have the same powdery white sand for which the island is famous around the world. Based on records from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), 629,750 passengers, both foreign and local, arrived at the Kalibo airport, which is adjacent to Boracay, in 2011.