BORACAY – This island resort has accommodated tourists beyond its carrying capacity, Environment secretary Roy Cimatu said, citing a study by a multidisciplinary team of experts.
According to the study, the carrying capacity of Boracay was “beyond threshold” and this has caused the environmental health and water quality in the island to worsen.
Cimatu said the government will give attention to the carrying capacity of the island before reopening it to visitors in October.
Managing the number of tourists to minimize damage to the environment is crucial to the sustainability of Boracay, said Cimatu.
Cimatu said a team comprising experts from the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau of the Department Environment and Natural Resources and the University of the Philippines Los Baños has assessed the carrying capacity of the island.
The experts have found out that the island catered to 6,400 average tourists daily and 19,900 tourists on any given day – more than the usual number of guests allowed to stay in Boracay.
The peak tourism months – April, May and February – “exceeded the optimal tourist numbers,” the study noted.
Boracay’s carrying capacity was “beyond threshold,” leading to “worsening” environment and water quality.
In particular, tourist experience at the beach and swimming areas was “no longer worthwhile,” and these areas have become “less attractive to tourists,” the study pointed out.
The World Tourism Organization defines carrying capacity as “the maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time without causing destruction of the physical, economic and sociocultural environment, and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors’ satisfaction.”
In 2017 Boracay accommodated more than two million local and foreign tourists.
It is set to reopen on Oct. 26, or six months after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered its temporary closure to give way to rehabilitation. (With Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
