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[av_heading heading=’No Boracay promotion in world cruise expo’ 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=”][/av_heading]
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Monday, March 12, 2018
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ILOILO City – Tourism director for Western Visayas Atty. Helen Catalbas found it “painful” not to see Boracay Island in the huge photo wall of the Philippine booth at the Seatrade Cruise Global expo held last week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
“But we have to swallow the bitter pill for healing and cleansing,” Catalbas said in a statement.
She was one of the county’s delegates to what was considered as the most prominent gathering and exhibit of the world’s cruise industry from March 5 to 8.
However, Catalbas said Boracay, famous for its white and powdery sand, was still being “carried in DOT (Department of Tourism) brochures, tour packages carried by ship agents and tour operators of the Philippine delegation.”
DOT’s Boracay field office said in January that four cruise ships visited the world-renowned island, bringing in some 12,927 passengers and 6,353 crew members.
In February, three cruise ships docked in Boracay with 6,246 passengers and 3,168 crew members.
Prior to the current environmental issue, the DOT said 18 cruise ships with more than 50,000 passengers and more than 25,000 crew members were scheduled to visit Boracay Island this year.
Nine cruise ships scheduled to visit Boracay in 2019 were expected to bring in 9,000 passengers and 5,000 crew members.
President Rodrigo Duterte announced a plan to place Boracay under a state of calamity. He also gave the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) six months to clean Boracay up.
DENR last year began an inventory of all establishments and residences to determine those that are not connected to the sewerage system.
Initial findings showed that 716 of the 834 wastewater-discharging establishments did not have discharge permits and were presumed to be discharging their water into the sea. (PNA)
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