Philippines to reopen Boracay after President Rodrigo Duterte wraps up 6-month campaign to clean up ‘cesspool’ resort
- Government caps visitor numbers, bans beach boozing in bid to undo years of damage inflicted by mass tourism
The Philippines reopens its crown jewel resort island Boracay to holidaymakers on Friday, after a six-month clean up aimed at repairing the damage inflicted by years of unrestrained mass tourism.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the island closed in April for a major effort to fortify weak infrastructure and crack down on the rampant overdevelopment that had left it, what he termed, a “cesspool”.
When the government throws open the doors, Boracay will have fewer hotels and restaurants, a cap on the number of visitors and anti-beach boozing rules aimed at taming its party-hard reputation.
All of this is intended to protect the bruised beauty of the island’s turquoise waters and expanses of white sand beaches which were being loved to death by two million tourists per year.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said 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.