Boracay slated for ‘soft opening’ in October; no longer a ‘party place’

Photo: ABS-CBN News
Photo: ABS-CBN News

Prepare to see a new, more peaceful Boracay.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat announced on Tuesday that Boracay will have its “soft opening” on Oct. 26, but that the island will no longer play host to the wild parties that have made it such a tourist favorite.

In an interview on the ABS-CBN New Channel show Headstart, she said: “It won’t be like a … party place anymore. We want it to be as it is. More peaceful. And we want to promote sustainable tourism.”

Read: Boracay by the numbers: 6 months, 30,000 jobs, 1 very uncertain future

The DOT chief also shot down a July GMA News report that Macau-based Galaxy Entertainment would build a casino on the 10.32 square-kilometer-island. That’s in keeping with previous statements from President Rodrigo Duterte, who has said he will allow no casinos to operate in Boracay.

“The president has repeatedly said that there will be no casinos in Boracay. We [will] follow the president’s directive,” Romulo-Puyat said in her Tuesday announcement.

Puyat also mentioned that the DOT will cut down on the number of tourists visiting the island. According to Rappler,  553,074 tourists visited Boracay in the first quarter of 2018, or 184,358 per month.

“I think with the carrying capacity, we will limit the number of tourists entering. So it doesn’t really make sense to put up more resorts,” Puyat said.

Even though it’s two months away, airlines are already gearing up for Boracay’s comeback. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Cebu Pacific Air will resume flights to Caticlan Airport on Oct. 26, while Philippine Airlines will start flying on Oct.27.

Meanwhile, DOT Undersecretary Arthur Boncato Jr. on Monday said that hotels on the island will be opened in phases. According to the Philippine Star, he said that resorts will need to comply first with the requirements set by the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Department of Natural Resources.

Establishments that have secured the agencies’ clearances will then be allowed to re-open.

Boracay was closed back in April 26 after Duterte labeled the island a “cesspool” for its environment-related problems.



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