Paradise island turned cesspool: how tourism nearly destroyed a popular resort in the Philippines

Boracay, a small tropical island in the central part of the Philippine archipelago, was once a tourist paradise until its popularity began to harm the region's nature and local residents. Due to the large number of tourist businesses and garbage, this fabulous harbor was even called the "cesspool".

To save the environment, the island had to be closed for six months. Express tells what has happened to it since then.

Boracay was named the "best island" in 2016 by the American magazine Conde Nast Traveler, but on April 13, 2018, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the resort to be closed to tourists for 6 months due to environmental problems.

During that difficult time, the beaches were drowning in tourist garbage, and the turquoise water became cloudy due to untreated wastewater from 200 businesses that were not connected to the island's sewer system.

During the six months of isolation from foreigners, a major restructuring was carried out to meet the tourist season with dignity.

A new, improved sewage system was built on Boracay, and strict rules for vacationers were introduced to minimize beach activities and coastal littering.

Some buildings near the water were demolished and roads were widened. However, the locals no longer accepted an unlimited number of tourists. The number of visitors was limited to 6,400 per day.

During 2019, there were 1,037,619 foreign and 923,433 domestic tourists on the island. Total tourism revenue in 2019 amounted to $1.04 billion.

Although they are trying to control the situation with the frenzied flow of people on the relatively small island, it is still often on the verge of closure due to environmental pollution.