Boracay beach (Source: AFP) Hanoi (VNA) - The Philippine tourism industry is struggling tomanage the fallout from the temporary shutdown of its world-famous Boracayisland, which threw into chaos trips planned by hundreds of thousands oftourists.
In February, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered theonce-idyllic white-sand resort closed to tourists for up to six months fromApril 26, after describing the country's top tourist attraction as a"cesspool" tainted by raw sewage.
Hundreds of hotels, as well as restaurants, tour operators and businessestablishments on Boracay island were April 6 unwinding bookings for rooms,flights, weddings and other events and facilities.
Hotel Sales and Marketing Association President Christine Ibarreta said hundredsof thousands of bookings made as far as two years in advance for hotels andother tourism services would have to be either cancelled and refunded, orrebooked.
The government plans police, or even military, checkpoints at ports tokeep tourists away from the central Philippine island that draws two million visitorseach year. Residents will get passes while Boracay is rehabilitated. Domesticairlines announced on they would scale back the number of flights to the island.
The Philippines will tear down illegal structures, build a bypass tounclog traffic, convert tricycle taxis into electric vehicles and build a modern waste-to-energyplant to rescue its premier tourist island.
The Philippine Government said the overhaul is necessary to save the tinyisland, which generated over 1 billion USD last year but cannot cope under thestrain of 2 million tourists a year.
The environment ministry has issued a notice of violation to businessesdischarging sewage and has ordered the destruction of more than 900 illegalstructures in forest and wetlands. About 1,000 three-wheel taxis and cars inBoracay could be converted into electric vehicles, but details had to bediscussed with the energy department.
Environment Undersecretary Jonas Leones said the rehabilitation periodfor Boracay may go beyond six months, and the cost of making it liveable againhad yet to be determined.
Authorities have yet to finalise the waste-to-energy plant's capacitywhich offered a long-term solution to the garbage problem of an island thatproduces 90 to 115 tonnes of trash a day, Leones said.
It is estimated the island attracts up to 2 million visitors each yearand contributes 20 percent of the country’s tourism revenue. The closure of theisland will make around 17,000 local resort workers jobless.-VNA
VNA
