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PHILIPPINES-ENVIRONMENT-TOURISM-BORACAY
Philippines’ spruced up Boracay re-opens with new rules
BORACAY, Philippines, Oct 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The Philippines opened the
doors Friday to a spruced up and newly regulated Boracay, its famous holiday
island that was shuttered to mend decades of harm caused by unchecked
tourism.
The white sand idyll was closed to visitors in April after President
Rodrigo Duterte called it a “cesspool” tainted by raw sewage flowing from
hotels and restaurants straight into the sea.
But the re-christened resort has a slew of new rules that restrict boozing
and smoking on the beach, limit the number of tourists and hotels, all while
a renovation spree is ongoing.
Among the first visitors to land just after dawn on Friday were first-
timers attracted by the prospect of a cleaner, less crowded island.
“When I saw pictures of tourists in Boracay lying like sardines in a can, I
didn’t want to come here,” German visitor Josef Fuchs, 61, told AFP. “Now I
expect to have a few good days here.”
Once a quiet hideaway favoured by backpackers, the tiny island was
transformed by overdevelopment into a mass destination seeing some two
million visitors per year.
Under the new regime, the beachfront is cleared of the masseuses, vendors,
bonfires and even the builders of its famous photo-op sandcastles it was once
crowded with.
Buildings were bulldozed and businesses pushed back to create a 30-metre
(98-foot) buffer zone from the waterline.
Construction is everywhere with road repairs, hotels and resort renovations
happening around the island.
All water sports save for swimming are also banned for the time being,
while Boracay’s three casinos have been permanently shut down in line with
Duterte’s wishes.
Boracay, which major tourist magazines consistently rate as among the
world’s best beaches, measures a mere 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres).
Yet it was seeing up to 40,000 sun worshippers at peak times, with tourists
spending $1 billion a year but also leaving mountains of garbage and an
overflowing sewer system.
– End of ‘ghost town’ Boracay –
The new rules say 19,200 tourists will be allowed on the island at any one
time, with the government aiming to enforce that by controlling the number of
available hotel rooms.
Nearly 400 hotels and restaurants deemed to violate local environmental
laws have already been ordered closed and airlines as well as ferries were
told to restrict service to the area.
Drinking and smoking are banned and the huge multi-day beach parties dubbed
“LaBoracay” that drew tens of thousands of tourists during the May 1 Labour
Day weekend will be a thing of the past.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said last week she hopes the new
Boracay will be the start of a “culture of sustainable tourism” in the
Philippines, adding other tourist destinations will be next.
Tens of thousands of workers were left unemployed when the island’s tourism
machine was deprived of visitors.
“Life will go back to normal. We will have money and work again,” said
Jorge Flores, 45, a hotel worker. “In the past six months, hotels here were
like… a ghost town.”
Other places in the region strained by mass tourism have also used closures
as a tactic to protect the sites from destruction.
Thai authorities announced in October that the glittering bay immortalised
in the movie “The Beach” will be closed indefinitely to allow it to recover
from the impact of hordes of tourists.
BSS/AFP/MRI/0912 HRS