Is Boracay Closing? Yes.
It’s true. The Boracay closing will begin on April 26th, 2018. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was stern on his decision despite local animosity.
Boracay Island is one of the largest tourist destinations in the Philippines. Rated, year after year, one of the World’s Best Beaches by sources like Travel & Leisure Magazine and Conde Nast Traveller.
Boracay has seen an increasing tourist boom over recent years and has risen to reach 2 Million visitors in 2017. The tiny 4 square mile island brought 56 Billion PHP (over 1 Billion USD) of revenue to the island in 2017 alone and was planning to surpass that number in 2018 before the announced shut down.
How will Boracay closing effect locals?
The shutdown by President Rodrigo Duterte was confirmed on April 4th, declaring Boracay in a “state of calamity”. This defined by the Filipino Government is a disruption of the normal way of life of people in the affected areas as a result of the occurrence of natural or human-induced hazard. The calamity declaration will help some of the 17,000 registered workers receive a small amount of financial assistance during the Boracay shut down.
Although there are 17,000 workers who will receive help, there are even more laborers unaccounted for who provide highly sought after tourist services like island hopping, motorbike and boat transport, beach massages, and more. These workers will not receive any financial aid from the government, putting a massive strain on local families living in Boracay.
“There will be no income and we have bills to pay so I don’t know how I will survive.” -Manuel Raagas for dw.com
How will Boracay Closing effect tourists?
Most of the islands hotels and restaurants will still remain in full operation during the Boracay shut down. With far less tourism, you have the opportunity to visit this world class island with only a fraction of people, giving you a rare experience of Boracay Island. We spoke to a few hotel owners on the island and they are in the process of hiring private transportation so tourists can still enjoy a relaxed vacation on Boracay.
As far as transportation is concerned, the government is banning all public transport to and from Caticlan Jetty Port. Many airlines, including Philippine Airlines, are heavily reducing the number of flights heading to Caticlan and Kalibo. However, the government will NOT ban private transportation to and from Boracay. So, if you already booked a vacation to Boracay during the Boracay closing period, I suggest contacting your hotel to see if they are planning to arrange private transportation to and from Caticlan.
What will be fixed during the Boracay Closure?
The largest task to clean up Boracay is sewage distribution. The sewage lines built 50 years ago were not meant to sustain the magnitude of infrastructure that has developed on the island over the past decade. Many buildings on the island are wrongly draining their raw sewage directly into the shallow ocean waters. Even the treated sewage is draining too close to shore, as you can see on Bulabog Beach and in the image to the left.
Buildings that don’t meet Boracay’s environmental standards will need to be renovated or demolished during the 6 month Boracay closure. Popular restaurant, Jonah’s Fruit Shakes in Station 1, has been condemned for potential demolition. Many buildings on White Sand Beach face the same fate as their structures were built too close to the water, bypassing the islands regulatory guidelines. Over 800 other buildings on the island are also in violation. The president has ceased any new building permits being granted on Boracay until further notice.