BORACAY ISLAND

Crown Jewel of the Philippines

Renaliz M. Gonzales
MBA-HRM
Current Trends and Issues in Hospitality Management
Boracay is a small island in Central Philippines located northwest of Panay Island. Aklan province is
located near the town of Malay municipality and has a population of about 16,000 people. Boracay Island
is. Barangay is divided into three areas Yapak, Balabag and Manoc-Manoc. Boracay Island is one of the
famous local tourist destinations in the Philippines with white sandy beaches stretching for four
kilometers. The beach located in the western side of the island from Balabag to Manoc-Manoc is the most
popular tourist spot. With its white sandy beaches and blue water, Boracay was nominated as the best
island in the world by Travel+Leisure magazine in 2012. Moreover, TripAdvisor also named Boracay
as one out of the 25 most beautiful islands in the world, and 7th most beautiful in Asia.
Unfortunately, in April 2018, Philippines’ President Rodrigo
Duterte ordered the closure of Boracay for tourists. This closure is
not without a reason: a video showing black-colored sewage
pouring straight into the water of Boracay went viral, and it
caused the central government to take several measures including
making the island temporarily off-limits for tourists.

Pollution became one of the main problems in Boracay island,

which is mainly caused by the lack of proper sewage and waste
management system. Waste water are dumped. Drainage pipes
are covered with white sand. This is also worsened by the
existence of many hotels and inns that operate on Boracay island.

Boracay is not only famous for its white beaches but also its
snorkeling sites and diverse marine life. Tourists can find
pufferfish, clownfish, parrotfish, and even starfish. It will be such
a shame if Boracay’s underwater beauty was to
be polluted by untreated waste that resulted from tourism
activities. Dirty Beaches that causes the murky water, bottles and
trash were found underneath the sea bed.
The number of tourists that visited the
Philippines has increased significantly in the past
several years. In 2017 alone, the number of
international tourists who went to the country is as
many as 6,6 million people. One-third of them,
around 2 million people, visited Boracay.

To give you some perspective, Boracay island

is only 10 kilometers square and is inhabited by
30,000 residents. With those figures in mind,
the ratio of the tourists and the local people living
there is 1 in 66 people.

Further investigation revealed that there are around 800 environmental violations that occurred on Boracay
island. In addition, Philippines’ Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) has also ordered
the shutdown of 300 businesses that have violated the laws.

And let’s talk about the amount of waste that is generated on the island. It is estimated that the waste
produced by every person in Boracay is three times higher compared to the Capital City Manila.
The Importance of Sustainable Tourism
 The negative impacts of humans’ existence and activities in tourism sites should
make us re-evaluate existing tourism practices that we have been doing all these
times. If not, then just like Boracay island, natural tourism sites that were once
stunning and breath-taking will eventually be ruined and polluted. 

 The fact is, the tourism sector contributes to 5% of the global carbon emission, 4%

comes from transportation, and the rest 1% results from the accommodation
sector, while a small amount related to other tourism activities (UNWTO/UNEP,
Climate change and tourism, 2008).

 Furthermore, a tourist uses from 84 up to 2,000 liters of water per day, depending
on the length of stay, size and amenities in the hotel, type as well as the amount of
food consumed, and other factors. (Gössling et al., 2012)

 The good news is, recently the concept of sustainable tourism is on the rise and has
even be implemented in several places.
 The massive rehabilitation of Boracay had a great impact when it comes to the tourism
industry. Since it is one of the most visited tourist spot in the Philippines. The closure of
it had a big risk and lots of establishments and the community will lost it’s main source
of income. Boracay became overrated. The government and the people’s
mismanagement and abusing our natural resources got something very serious. This is the
major cause why Boracay have to be closed for 6 months. This is the only way to
resuscitate the beauty and to sustain the tourism industry in Boracay Island.

 After the 6 months closer it is now ready to operate and open for al the tourist. Lot of
things has change there so many rules to be followed for the improvement of the place
and to sustain its natural beauty. The Inter-Agency Task Force or IATF has set standard
rules and regulations to be followed for each and everyone in the Island. They have rules
for the locals and also for all the tourist. Only the fully compliant establishments are
allowed to open. They have set a 6,405 tourist allowed daily. DILG- DENR – DPWH and
DOT have worked together for the betterment of rehabilitation of Boracay. Strictly
compliance for every establishment for them to be able to open their businesses. One of
the compliance that every establishment need it the proper water sewage. Since this had
been a big impact on why Boracay had been polluted and exploit. Protecting the natural
resources is one of the best way for a sustainable tourism. Observing the capacity limit
helps to minimize the effect that could cause for the Island to be exploit again. Strictly
no reservation guest are not allowed to go to Boracay Island. All Tourism Destination
should follow the environmental law.
The development for a sustainable tourism is
continuous.
 Road widening
 Using of E-tricycles
 Sewage and drainage systems
Being in Boracay is so
much fun. There are
lots of activities to
do. Here are some of
the activities and
attractions that will
entice the people to
visit the beautiful
Island of Boracay.
Hotels, Resorts, Dining, Bars, and Function
area

The government in June 2018 announced

that it is developing the Ati people's 2 ha
(4.9 acres) ancestral land in Boracay into
an agro-tourism area in an effort to
integrate the Ati in the island's tourism
industry. The development is part of
the Department of
Agriculture’s Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng
Kababayang Katutubo (transl. Livelihood
and Progress of Filipino Indigenous
Peoples; 4Ks) program which was
conceptualized by the department's
secretary Emmanuel Piñol. A greenhouse
will be set up for vegetable cultivation and
a goat farm for the production of milk. An
organic restaurant serving Ati cuisine
and hostel will also be set up along the
beach area to be run by members of the
Ati people.
SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH OPPORTUNITIES 
 WHITE SAND BEACH AND WATER CAN BE USED TO PROMOTE TOURISM IN
ACTIVITIES ATTRACT TOURISTS. THE PHILIPPINES.

 THE UNIQUENESS OF THE ISLAND THE MORE BUSINESS TRANSACTION WILL

CORAL REEFS. COME.

 ACCESSIBILITY AND VISIBILITY OF THE

ISLAND.
THREATS
OVER POPULATION OF TOURIST 
WEAKNESSES
HARM HEALTH OF TOURISTS 
 MALFUNCTION OF SEWAGE SYSTEM HAS A
GREAT IMPACT. ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

EXPENSES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF

 WATER IS LACK OF SAFETY BECAUSE OF
SEWAGE SYSTEM.
ITS HIGH COLIFORM LEVEL.
Thank you and God bless!

References:

 https://waste4change.com/sustainable-tourism-a-tourism-that-does-not-cos
t-the-earth/
 http://www.gyokei.sakura.ne.jp/dp/Vol5/No3.pdf
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Boracay_closure_and_redevelopment
 https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/multimedia/slideshow/08/16/18/this-is-h
ow-boracay-looks-like-then-and-now