The Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Tourist Arrivals and Economic Viability of Sanipaan Marine Park, Island Garden City of Samal, Philippines

This study examines the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on Sanipaan Marine Sanctuary's tourist arrival and economic viability. A simple t-test was used to analyze the Before-COVID (2018 and 2019) and During-COVID (2020 and 2021) data. The result shows a significant difference between the "Before" and "During" groups' average values, demonstrating that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted visitor arrivals. The estimated t-statistic of 10.356 shows that visitor arrivals during the pandemic (3353) were considerably lower than before (30507.5), above the crucial value of 4.303 at 0.05. Additionally, a simple linear regression examined the link between visitor arrivals and entrance fee collection. Tourists (x1) and entrance fee collection are significantly linked (p-value = 0.037). Tourist numbers raise admission fees by 9.3481 units. The R-squared value of 0.868 implies that tourists explain 86.8% of entrance fee volatility. The adjusted R-squared value of 0.811 conservatively estimates the model’s fit. The regression model's F-statistic of 15.09 supports its significance (p-value = 0.037), demonstrating that tourist numbers considerably affect entrance fee earnings. The analysis shows that visitor arrivals account for 87% of entrance fee variation, emphasizing the park's economic dependence on tourism. It demonstrates the COVID-19 pandemic's influence on Sanipaan Marine Park's tourism and business. The 66.89% difference between the 2022 and 2018 figures shows the pandemic's ongoing consequences on visitor arrivals. These findings provide important insights for policymakers and stakeholders managing and developing Sanipaan Marine Sanctuary, highlighting the need for strategic planning and initiatives to address pandemic challenges and foster a sustainable recovery in tourist arrivals and economic stability.