Philippines: Boracay reopens for tourism

Filipino authorities have again released the island of Boracay for tourists. Six months ago, President Rodrigo Duerte had called it "sewer" and had personally ordered its blockage. Visitors are now back, but in the future, things will calm down on the old island of the holiday: the authorities have limited the number of tourists allowed to 6,000 per day.

Last year, more than two million people visited Boracay. a lot For years, hotels, restaurants and shops would have simply sent their sewage and fecal waste to the sea. Garbage has been dumped near the beach and parts of the island are being built with residential complexes . About 3,400 hotels have caused a constant overload of the island. Benches, kiosks and other buildings, some unauthorized, have been removed from the beach.

During the closure, hidden sewer pipes were discovered that led directly to the sea. Two hotels were built without authorization in the wetlands. In the years of almost uncontrolled tourism, many incidents of this type went unpunished. After the closure of the island, a mayor was removed from office and filed a complaint against 16 officials.

Now, airlines have been ordered to offer fewer flights to Boracay. Currently, all water sports except swimming are prohibited. "Let's treat the island as at home, leaving it clean and untouched," Tourism Commissioner Berna Romulo-Puyat said, welcoming new tourists. "Do not drink and smoke on the beaches and do not waste them." Visitors must sign a code of conduct upon arrival.

German tourist Lora Hörhammer was one of the first visitors after the reopening and supports the measures. "It's a good thing to close the whole environment so that nature can relax for a moment and clean people from all over," she says. "Everyone can come back and realize that it's a better place for everyone now.

Islanders disagree over the closure

Islanders have ambivalent views about the closure. "It's like we were back in the 1980s when we did not even have electricity here," Serekit Ambay said. She hopes the tourists will come back and that they will be allowed to work on the beach again.

The long period without visitors has been a difficult phase for people living from tourism. After the closure of many hotels and businesses, many employees lost their jobs. Only a small portion of the 20,000 former Island employees have found a job. Some families would have left the island.

Other islanders are satisfied with the measures. "The weather is nice and the water is so clear," said Gil delos Santos, a 42-year-old hotel operator. "It's like if Boracay had a reboot."

Eduardo Ano, who heads the Department of the Interior and Local Government, is quite convinced. Six months were in his eyes too little for a complete repair of the island, become a "dead island" in less than a decade, according to a government report according to the flow of people and negligence. It is believed that similar violations of official policies have been committed on other Philippine islands for years, and further closures may be imminent.