Months of hard work and tireless efforts paid off for the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force as the tourist spot once labeled as a “cesspool” bounced back as one of the best islands in the world this year.
“We couldn’t be more proud of what Boracay has become after one and a half years of rehabilitation,” Environment Secretary and BIATF chairman Roy Cimatu said on Saturday.
The Conde Nast Traveler, which is recognized as one of the most distinguished and trusted authorities on lifestyle travel, named Boracay as “the best island in Asia” and one of the 30 best islands in the world for 2019.
Boracay did not make it to the prestigious list last year due to the ongoing rehabilitation, after being crowned as the world’s best island for two consecutive years in 2016 and 2017.
This year’s rundown of the best islands in the world was broken down into six parts: Asia, Australia, and the South Pacific, Caribbean and the Atlantic, Europe, North America, and the United States.
Cimatu said the government’s efforts to restore Boracay are bearing fruit with the recognition from a global authority like Conde Nast Traveler.
According to Cimatu, the Boracay rehabilitation is now more than 80 percent complete. The BIATF has until May 2020 to finish the rehabilitation, or two years after it was created by President Rodrigo Duterte under Executive Order No. 53.
After one-and-a-half years of rehabilitation, Cimatu proudly announced that the water quality in Boracay‘s world-famous White Beach has greatly improved, with the coliform count now in the range of less than 1 most probable number per 100 milliliters (mpn/100ml) to 11.9 mpn/100ml which is way below the standard quality of 100 mpn/100ml for recreational waters.
Cimatu said rehabilitation efforts moved into high gear this year, focusing on strict implementation of environmental laws and regulations.
The task force, he said, is about to complete the demolition of all structures violating the 25+5-meter beach easement rule after tearing down the 10 remaining illegal structures along Bulabog Beach on November 10.
At an allowable 6,405 persons per day, the tourist arrival in Boracay remains within the allowable carrying capacity of 19,215 a day.
So far, 1.74 million tourists have arrived in Boracay this year. This number is 152 percent higher than last year, with Chinese, Koreans and Taiwanese as the top three foreign tourists.