Philippine surfing paradise Siargao has no desire to be another ‘cesspool’ like Boracay
After witnessing the impact too many tourists have had at other popular Asian destinations, Siargao’s local population sought to set the island on a different, more sustainable course
Despite its location, in the northeast of Mindanao, in the Philippines, long mythologised for its isolation, the reef-crowned island of Siargao has had an airstrip since the 1960s. It was opened under President Diosdado Macapagal, when the Philippines was one of Asia’s most prosperous nations. Back then, Siargao and much of the nation looked ripe for development.
China’s GDP per capita is now nearly three times that of the Philippines, where one in five people live below the poverty line and remittances from overseas workers account for more than 9 per cent of economic income. As the national economy slumped, the development of physical infrastructure on Siargao became less of a priority.
Then in 2008, under the presidency of Macapagal’s daughter, Gloria Arroyo, Siargao’s runway was extended, opening the island to a new breed of visitor, unlike the surfers who had been arriving on the overnight ferry for more than 40 years, drawn to the pristine reef breaks.
In 2017, passengers on one of the first direct flights from Manila were mostly locals escaping the Philippine capital’s traffic and smog. Also on board were a few youthful travellers ready to brave the potholed dirt roads to the main strip on Siargao, General Luna; looking forward to hunting through petrol-damp air for parties at coastal hotels, sniffing out kinilaw and lambanog, the local ceviche and a palm based liquor, in search of an endless summer.
It took decades for Siargao to reach the “backpacker phase”, but a sense of nervous apprehension hung around the young crowds that year, as if they knew it couldn’t last.