Thread: Boracay closed for 6 months starting April 26

MANILA (4th UPDATE) - President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the total closure for 6 months of Boracay effective April 26, his spokesman confirmed Wednesday.


Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte approved during Wednesday's Cabinet meeting the recommendation of the interior, environment, and tourism departments to close Boracay for 6 months to give way to its rehabilitation.


The island will be fully closed to tourism, according to Roque.


Duterte, who has described Boracay as a cesspool, had already said he was amenable to a 6-month closure of the island, even as the trade department proposed a phased closure of the island paradise in consideration of the locals who depend on the tourism industry for their livelihood.


Jose Clemente III, president of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines, said the government's decision came as a surprise.


"We were expecting some sort of compromise between a partial or total closure or at least given more time to adjust to a closure, but I guess the president made up his mind and we’re taken aback by it. We’re a bit depressed right now in the industry," Clemente told ANC's "Business Nightly."


"If given the opportunity, yes, we would like to present our case. The private sector did not have a face-to-face dialogue with the president. We were doing it through the various agencies. Unfortunately, I guess this is the result of the recommendations of those agencies."


Businesses and workers had been anxiously waiting for the government’s decision on Boracay, especially since the proposed April 26 shutdown comes before the annual Labor Day parties on the island, which attract thousands of tourists.

A shutdown of Boracay could lead to job losses for 36,000 people and P56 billion in lost revenue, stakeholders earlier said, as they appealed for a partial, instead of a full closure.


Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said calamity funds will be "activated" to sustain affected workers over the island's closure. Roque said the President would also be declaring a state of calamity in Boracay to fast track its rehabilitation.


Some 19,000 people work in the formal sector including hotels, resorts, restaurants, dive shops, souvenir shops, tour activity centers, and transport providers, data from the Boracay Foundation showed.


Another 17,000 work in the informal sector as massage therapists, tattoo artists, and vendors by the beach, data showed.


About P56 billion in tourism revenue will be lost if the island is closed for 9 months, based on the island's revenue during the first 9 months of 2017, data showed. This is equivalent to roughly 20 percent of the country's total tourism receipts.


The government’s decision to shut down Boracay for 6 months was met with both praises and disappointment online.


“Let the island rest for a while. Time to heal, Boracay. People have devastated you for so long. Rest for a while and I'll see you soon, Boracay!” said Twitter user Noel Soriano.


“So, is Boracay really being closed to fix the sanitation issues or is it so the casino can be built without hindrance?” said another Twitter user Cindy.


Boracay is one of the Philippines' top 8 tourist destinations, according to the Department of Tourism.


In 2017, some 3.72 million people flew to the island, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Boracay closed for 6 months starting April 26, says Roque | ABS-CBN News

While I believe it's the only way to save Boracay, that's a heap of folks almost totally out of work if the plan is actually enforced.

It would be interesting to hear if posters 'in the know' reckon this will be enforced.

^I think so. Boracay is a mess, and Duterte generally follows through. This has been talked about for quite a long time. Key will be what measures are taken to ease the pain of thousands put out of work - I am far less confident that these measures will amount to much.

Right. Thanks.

So not just a Thai style pile of bullshit with everything carrying on as normal, then

What will happen to the tourists who have already booked and probably paid for their holidays?

I have friends there right now..haha. Glad they went now and not later. A shame for the workers who will lose their jobs.

It will happen. It's just a question of when & how long. As DK said, the probable closure has been in the news for some time now.

Re: hotels/resorts booked - they'll probably be refunded, minus some admin costs. Re: flights - they'll have to cancel, rebook or reroute flights. Go to Cebu, Palawan or other islands instead.

Word is that there are less tourists now, due to the imminent closure. Good for the friends of TB who are on holiday now - less crowds. It was still very crowded last week (Holy Week) - last hurrah of the businesses to earn a buck or two before the closure.

Although I did see an article a few minutes ago that said the Boracay folks are hoping that if everyone works hard together to overcome the problems, they hope to reopen in 3-4 months, vice 6. Might just be wishful thinking.......or the first warning shot of backing off.

Lesson to Boracay, and the Filipines in general- Don't shit where you eat.
A lesson for Asians too, in general. But they only care when it's too late.

caption wilson? date, tidal conditions?

Originally Posted by aging one

caption wilson? date, tidal conditions?

There we are!

I was there in 94,hardly anyone there at all.

^For me '91; virtually empty. Only had power for a few hours in the evening. Empty, beautiful beaches.

Originally Posted by david44

it's not rocket Science

No, it's not, but it's the Philippines.

I never went to Boracay, but use to often visit a small island resort named Apuao Grande Island off the coast from Daet in Camarines Norte. It really was paradise, but the resort owners could not compete with the yearly typhoon damages and it was abandoned.

Did chinese tourists accelerate the decision for closure?

I've just returned from spending a few days at Bulalacao in the south of Mindoro.

In reality it's only about 2 hours by boat from Boracay, but it might as well be on the other side of the earth.

In 4 days I didn't see another foreigner. Pictures to come....

@djpat - no, it's not the Chinese tourists. Not too many of them in PI, esp during the past Aquino admin. That may change, though, as accdg to colleagues, there are now Chinese tour groups in the Ilocos region (the north - territory of the Marcoses). I've heard that there are now direct flights from some Chinese cities to Laoag airport in the north. Not really surprising, since Du30 is inching closer to China than to the Merkins.

Re: Boracay, there's recent news that the closure will be 3 months and not 6 - saw that in a news report yesterday but can't find the link.

I've a colleague who went to Boracay ~2 wks ago. He said that the small peddlers and stalls have indeed been removed. But then, there are plans for a big casino-resort to be built. Chinese-owned.....

I've another colleague who will go to Bora soon - will ask her for updates after her trip.

I don't think Bora will remain closed for too long, since too many ppl depend on it for their livelihood. Plus, the anti-closure grp has some strong backers. Cynthia Villar (a senator or congresswoman, I forgot) - she's the wife of Manny Villar, a former senator & presidential candidate. They made their money in real estate, and their company owns Boracay Sands hotel - a big, high-end place. Saw it during my visit. Saw also a news report about Cynthia Villar being opposed to a long closure. So, vested interests....

A temporary closure would be good - to fix the problems and for the island to recover.

"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." (Big yellow taxi)

Originally Posted by katie23

and their company owns Boracay Sands hotel - a big, high-end place.

I remember reading about Boracay in a newspaper supplement article in 1983. No electricity and the only accommodation were straw huts for
a few US$ per night. I contemplated going there but a few months later Aquino was assassinated at the airport when he returned from exile.
I think there was civil disputes in P.I. because of it, so I put any plans to go there on the back burner.

Only a few years had passed when I'd read somewhere that said that the waters around Boracay were polluted due to construction.
That was the last time I thought about going there.