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[av_heading heading=’GOODBYE, ‘CHEAP’ BORACAY?’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’18’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY GLENDA TAYONA
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Monday, March 19, 2018
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Tourism dep’t seeks to repackage island
ILOILO – Would the ordinary Juan dela Cruz still be able to afford Boracay once the island is completely rehabilitated?
“It’s going to be a destination that has class….and not cheapy-cheapy,” said Director Helen Catalbas of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in Western Visayas.
Efforts to fix Boracay’s environmental problems started in February. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources was given six months by President Rodrigo Duterte to finish the job but the department, DOT and the Department of the Interior and Local Government suggested a closure of the island for a year for the cleanup.
According to Catalbas, residences in Boracay should stop accommodating tourists at P300 to P500 per head.
Cheap accommodation contributes to the congestion in the island, she explained.
“Maski didto na sila mga bukid-bukid…mga kabalayan naga ikit-ikit, they are still accepting tourists. Wala man na sila mga permits,” said Catalbas.
She pushed for tighter regulation of accommodation establishments in Boracay.
For a resort island touted to be one of the best in the world, Catalbas lamented that at times, Boracay’s image as a “cheapy-cheapy destination” would eclipse its being a tourist destination offering world-class facilities.
The rehabilitated Boracay must be repackaged as a premium destination, said Catalbas.
“There is always a (tourism) destination or a product for everyone. It is only a matter of matching what we have with what the market wants,” she explained.
Northern Antique can be an alternative to Boracay, she said.
“It can be a very good destination for nature and adventure lovers, and also for cruise ships,” she said.
This summer, cruise ships agent will inspect the northern Antique port particularly in Culasi town and the port of Iloilo for Japanese cruise ships, said Catalbas.
The island province of Guimaras can also be an alternative to Boracay, she said.
Catalbas recently clarified that a total closure of Boracay for the island’s rehabilitation was not the intention of the DOT.
Establishments complying with environmental laws may be allowed to operate, said Catalbas, but “violators, they will be closed. In the first place, they have no permits, so why are you there?”
“It is not totally closed to tourists. But we have to inform our tourist markets that they should not expect Boracay to be very orderly when they arrive (due to rehabilitation activities),” said Catalbas.
Last month, Environment secretary Roy Cimatu deployed a “mission team” to address the environmental woes in the world-famous island. The team was composed of 50 personnel from six DENR regional offices.
Boracay was divided into six areas. Each of the six DENR regional offices was assigned an area to work on.
Catalbas said DOT would “soften lang ang marketing” of Boracay.
“Kay kon i-close mo sya as a whole or wholescale closing, ti daw indi feasible and I think it is not the intention of the DOT,” she said./PN
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