Hello everyone no matter where you are in the world right now.
To those who love traveling a lot, there's a big chance that you may have already encountered in your searches, social media or word of the mouth the place called Boracay in the Philippines.
This place was almost unknown to the world where the locals live peacefully with a simple way of life. Clear waters, clean air, sunny days and an abundant catch from fishing are a common experience to the people in the area. However, the fate of the island took a sudden turn for the world stage in the 70s when it was discovered by some westerners leading to some movies being made there. It was even described as a Paradise on Earth by German writer Gens Peter.
After the world got a glimpse of how beautiful the place is, many foreigners began to visit Boracay in 80s. Many backpackers who want adventures or getaway would would rent simple nipa houses to stay there and ride boats to explore the island.
Bigger resorts, restaurants, pools and tourism-related businesses began appearing while more and more tourists flock the island in the 90s. The tourism is booming that the government even hired a US-based consultant to provide a sustainable plan, but due to corruption and incompetence, the power to decide was handed to the local government. And from there, things began to spiral down. No proper rules, lots of red tapes, everything became disorganized and the opportunist businessmen and corrupt officials had their way in abusing the pristine and beautiful Boracay.
By early 2000s, tourism has exploded, businesses booming and international recognitions like being among the most beautiful beaches in the world from several survey and travel organizations are common but the looming problem started to arise as well - the problem with sustainability especially on the preservation of the state of the island in terms of cleanliness. By 2015, the sewage problem became so bad and got really dirty that it became very obvious to anyone already.
In 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered for a total tourism closure calling the water a cesspool. The order faced a lot of opposition especially from bigger businesses who were later found to have violated lots of things from sewage disposal to having their structures built too close to the shoreline. It was closed from April to October where
sewage systems were upgraded, roads were improved and structures very close to the water were removed.
Demolition of illegal structures
The pandemic also helped a lot since it gave the island more time to rest and heal.
Although rehabilitated, the effects of decades of neglect won't immediately go away and nature will take time to heal. As of now, continuous efforts are being done to further help the island maintain it's beauty and cleanliness to make it a sustainable tourism asset for the country and be enjoyed by locals and foreign tourists in the generations to come. And yes, it is now open for visits :)
Boracay now:
PS: photos dont belong to me and are from news, vlogs and articles
How about you, have your visited Boracay already? Please share with us some of your experiences. _