Philippines Will Close 'Cesspool' Boracay Island for 6-Month Cleanup
One of the world's top beach destinations, Boracay Island in the Philippines, will be shutdown for six months for a major overhaul, the Philippine government said Wednesday, after garbage, pollution and other environmental concerns have mounted with the island's increasing popularity.
Boracay, which was named the No. 2 best beach in Asia by TripAdvisor, has seen rapid growth with tourists for its white sand beaches and crystal clear waters. Last year, about 1.7 million tourists visited the island over just a 10-month period, the government-run Philippines Information Agency says. Tourism seems to have grown faster than Boracay's infrastructure developed, and due to the high traffic of visitors, the island has problems like massive heaps of garbage and unregulated sewage pipes that drain onto beaches and into the sea.
In February, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the island was a "cesspool," CNN reports. "As long as there is s*** coming out of those pipes draining to the sea, I will never give you the time of the day (to return)" to the island, he said.
When Boracay officially shuts down on April 26, no tourists will be allowed on the island. Boracay accounts for about 15% of the Philippines' total number of tourists, and the beach destination brought in $1.07 billion in tourism revenue in 2017, reports Al Jazeera. Its closure poses a huge threat to Boracay's economy, with more than 36,000 workers expected to be affected and a loss of $1 billion in tourism spending predicted.
The government is floating "calamity funds" to help bolster the workers affected by the island's closure. Both Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific are scaling back their Boracay-bound flights starting in late April.
Although the environmental rehabilitation is expected to take until October, Bloomberg cites Tourism Assistant Secretary Ricky Alegre saying that speeding up the overhaul could put Boracay's "soft opening" somewhere around July.
(Photo by /AFP/Getty Images)
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Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month