Party island of Boracay reopens minus drinking, smoking and raw sewage | World news


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The Philippines has reopened its famous holiday island of Boracay – it has been broken down by the unchecked tourism.

The sandy idyll was closed to visitors in April after President Rodrigo Duterte called it a "cesspool" tainted by raw sewage flowing from hotels and restaurants straight into the sea.

But the rechristened resort has a slew of new rules that continues.

Under the new diet, the beachfront has been cleared of masseuses, vendors, bonfires and even the builders of its famous sandcastles photo-op. Buildings have been bulldozed and managed to create a 30-meter buffer zone from the waterline.

Boracay's three casinos have been permanently closed, in line with Duterte's wishes.

Years of overdevelopment on the tiny island – which previously handled 2 million tourists a year – had left it alone, crowded and pushed to its limits.

Thirty-year-old tourist Roan Tadle from Manila said: "Even if there are many renovations and it's not yet perfect, when you go to the beach you realize that closing it for six months was worth it."





In Boracay beach in April, before the closure of the holiday island.



In Boracay beach in April, before the closure of the holiday island. Photograph: STR / AFP / Getty Images

Boracay, which major tourist magazines are among the world's best beaches, measures a mere 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres).

At peak times there would be 40,000 visitors there, spending $ 1bn a year but leaving the mountains of garbage and an overflowing sewer system.

The new rules say 19,200 tourists will be allowed on the island at any time, with the government.

Nearly 400 hotels and restaurants have been reported to have been passed to restrict services.

'Everyone, big and small, has sacrificed a lot'

Drinking and smoking are the two most popular parts of the world. "LaBoracay" that drew a lot of people during the weekend.

Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat says 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.

The Boracay Foundation, the main business industry group on the island, has not commented on the restrictions but welcomed the return of tourists.

"Everyone, big and small, has sacrificed a lot during the six-month [closure], "Its executive director Pia Miraflores said.

Tens of thousands of workers were left behind when the island's tourism machine was deprived of visitors.

"Life will go back to normal. We will have money and work again, "said Jorge Flores, 45, a hotel worker. "In the past six months, a ghost town."

Other places in the strained area by mass tourism have also been used as a tactic to protect the sites from destruction.

Thai authorities announced in October that the glittering bay immortalized in the movie The Beach will be closed indefinitely to allow it to recover from the impact of tourism.

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