TBK Travels to the Philippines- part eleven - Boracay before it was closed for rehabilitation

The British Kabayan in Boracay in 2011

My one and only trip to Boracay was in 2011. At the time it was the Philippines top tourist destinations, but I hated it and never went back. We stayed at a Microtel again and the hotel and staff were fantastic and the location great. It was away from the main beaches in a cove on its own and the only way in was by boat from the sea or van from the town or airport. 

The crowded main beach in 2011

The place I hated was the main town beach which, even back then, was so overcrowded with shops , restaurants and hotels packed tightly together.  If that was not bad enough you were constantly stopped, even if you were sunbathing on the beach, by street sellers trying to sell you watches, jewelry, massages etc.

In 2018 the Philippines President, Rodrigo Duterte , described Boracay as a "cesspool" and ordered it to be closed for 6 months for rehabilitation. 

Algae on the beach the day before the closure ( source : Rom Dulo for the Philippine News Agency - Philippine News Agency: "Sewage mess drives Boracay into ‘cesspool’", Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70310077- accessed 29.11.19)

According to our friends at Wikipedia "the closure of the Philippine resort island of Boracay, one of the nation's major tourist destinations, was set for six months starting April 26, 2018 as part of the government's efforts at the island's environmental rehabilitation. As part of the closure, Boracay was closed except to registered island residents and employees of its business establishments. the army was sent in to enforce this. "

 ( source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Boracay_closure_and_redevelopment ) Accessed 29.11.19 )

One of the many private tour boats available for hire in Boracay

The previous year, according to the Department of Tourism , 2 million people had visited Boracay so during the closure about a million people had to find somewhere else to stay . All those involved in tourism on Boracay, were out of work. For many visitors Boracay was the Philippines and they had never visited any of the other 7000 + islands that made up the country. So for the nation as a whole there were several benefits to the closure:

1. People had to find other islands to visit ( and Palawan and specifically El Nido picked up most of the tourists) 

2. It served as a warning to other islands to clean up their act ( after Boracay was rehabilitated Duterte gave El Nido 6 months to clean up their act or said  he would close it next.) 

In Boracay it was estimated that 36,000 jobs were lost by the closure as the island so heavily relied on tourism. 

"Following Boracay's six-month closure for rehabilitation, the Department of Tourism issued a warning in October 19 2018 to local government units based in 5 major tourist destinations to follow environmental laws, namely El Nido in Palawan, Panglao in Bohol, Oslob in Cebu, La Union, and Baguio."

( source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Boracay_closure_and_redevelopment ) Accessed 29.11.19)


3. The jewel of the Philippines crown, Boracay , was restored to how it used to be with much stricter legislation to prevent the same thing happening again.

The beach at the Microtel where the staff cleaned the beach every morning

 As a result of the closure, according to Wikipedia :

"About 400 hotels and restaurants were ordered to close for violating local environmental laws, while 3 casinos were permanently shut down. Establishments built within the 30-meter shoreline easement were also demolished. The government projected that there was about ₱18-20 billion loss of potential gross receipts as a result of the six months closure of Boracay. Tourist stakeholders in the island project a loss of ₱30 billion as they estimated that 700,000 bookings by foreign tourists were cancelled in anticipation of the closure.!"

 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org wiki/2018_Boracay_closure_and_redevelopment ( accessed 29.11.19)

Lakad lakad

Many tourists, like me, fell in love with Palawan, and never went back to Boracay. In some cases the job losses in Boracay were permanent, many boat tour operators moved to Palawan ( although allegedly the 3 families who owned all the boats there and the then corrupt mayor tried to prevent them getting licenses to operate) . 

When the island reopened a variety of newly-established Chinese-owned businesses opened in Boracay, with about 300 mainland Chinese workers.

 

               My favourite photo from Boracay which still hangs on my wall

Well that's all from Boracay, next stop another Island I will never go back to, Cebu

Until then this is the British Kabayan signing out- Kita kits, Ingat xxx