BORACAY, Oct 26 — The wait is over. The world famous Boracay Island reopened its beaches and waters to tourists amid pomp and fanfare today after six months of rehabilitation and clean-up.
Visitors were greeted by the island in a merrymaking mood, with dancers showing off an orchestrated number during the grand opening ceremony, just along the pristine white shores.
According to Xinhua news agency, hordes of tourists thronged the island with excitement, most of whom arrived early in the morning at the Caticlan Port, thoroughly impressed by how the island has transformed.
“Boracay is always my go-to place, it's like my escape from stress. So, seeing it like this, even more beautiful than before, makes me want to come back again,” said tourist Jane Narciso.
According to the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the island is expecting more than 6,000 tourists on the first day of the soft opening. Nevertheless, this capacity is being closely monitored in the ports of entry to avoid mistakes of the past.
The re-opening was a proud moment for the Philippine government which spared no effort to make the white sand spotless, and the water clean and safe ahead of the opening.
However, the state of the roads is a different story altogether. The main road to the island is still under construction, and some areas are not yet accessible to vehicles. The government says there is nothing to worry about as 80 per cent of road reconstructions for the first phase have already been completed.
Many restaurants and hotels are still closed due to non-compliance, but more establishments are expected to reopen in the coming months as soon as their business permits are cleared by concerned agencies.
The Inter-Agency Task Force which is responsible for the rehabilitation work admitted there was still much work to be done, and asked for patience from the tourists, after receiving reports of visitors getting confused over the unfinished rehabilitation.
“This is only the first phase of rehabilitation, we have a lot to do in the next months. So, we ask our stakeholders to help us in taking care of the beauty and cleanliness of the island,” requested Philippine Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat.
Boracay will go through two more phases of rehabilitation which will last until December 2019.
In spite of the six-month hiatus in Boracay, the tourism department is confident they will reach their target of 7.5 million total arrivals in the country by year-end.
The island stakeholders also want the lessons of Boracay to set an example on how proper handling of the environment should be.
“The lessons learned here are not for Boracay alone but also for the other island destinations in our beautiful country. It will not end in Boracay. It is just the beginning,” said Puyat. — Bernama
