The government has officially closed boracay to all local and foreign tourists yesterday. Only the residents are allowed to come and go. The island was once voted as the world's best island two years ago. With 2.1 million tourists arriving in 2017 alone, Boracay is facing environmental degradation, traffic congestion, illegal construction, property disputes, illegal fishing, insufficient solid waste management, etc.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called the island a "cesspool". He even told Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu "I'll give you six months. Clean the goddamn thing.".
I had the chance to experience paradise March of 2015. The island was pretty crowded with tourists but yet still very beautiful. I was kind of expecting for problems mentioned above to arise in a few years since I visited the island but I never would have thought the island would be closed. I think the closure is necessary for the island to heal itself. The local residents and tourists will benefit once the island is completely healed and once the problems are addressed.
Here are some of the photos I took during my visit March 2015
The island will be closed for 6 months. We'll just have to wait for the island to heal and hope the issues/problems will be addressed accordingly. What are your thoughts? Comment below.