The very well known and popular island of Borocay from the Philippines has been a backpacker and island lover paradise. The over tourism effect has finally arrived, the Philippines announced a 6 month long closure of the very popular destination starting from April 26th 2018.

Known for its beautiful beaches and clear blue waters, Borocay has been a must visit destination for visitors. Last year, approximately 2 million tourists visited. With all the traffic that the Island has been receiving since the 80’s and the lack of sustainable travel initiatives over time, there has been a lot of environmental damage accumulating.

This shutdown period is intended to do some clean up of the island and the surrounding areas. Infrastructures are planned to be put in place for better sewerage system, etc. It will hopefully also give time to non-compliant businesses to set up compliant facilities according to the Philippines law. The Closure is meant for a clean up but there has been no clear plans published about the initiative. It is even odder that the government just recently signed with Galaxy Entertainment, a Macau-based casino operator, to begin next year a construction of a $500 million beachfront casino.

There will be no exceptions, the place will be a total closure to tourists. This will affect heavily on the tourism industry, but most importantly a crisis to come for hoteliers and other people employed by a tourism related entity.

We hope to get some more information soon to update you on it, but meanwhile, you might want to go before the date of April 26th to Borocay or change your plans if you were going to travel there after that date.