Boracay and other popular tourism spots suffer from excessive load of tourists

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

The island of Boracay suffers from two fatal weaknesses – an amazing white-sand beach, which is a magnet for tourists, and a hopelessly overloaded sewerage system.

 
This has poisoned the Philippines jewel. Boracay has become so much polluted that President Rodrigo Duterte has taken the dramatic step of closing the island to visitors.

 
His decision has thrown thousands of poorly paid island workers out of job, turned off a lucrative source of foreign exchange and prompted indignation from the high-end hotel industry at the island.

 
However, Duterte had no choice. Boracay, which drew 2 million visitors last year, was drowning in a sea of sludge. Virtually every commercial property was depositing waste straight into the sea. The place had almost become a toilet.

 
Named by Conde Nast readers just last year as the best island in the world, Boracay became an example of greed, voracious tourism and desperate economic need.

 
The chances of Bali following the same foul path are a real possibility. Koh Tachai, a Thai dive spot was closed after it came close to collapse under the weight of tourism and Maya Bay, setting for The Beach, the Leonardo Di Caprio film, is currently closed for tourists to help recover marine life.

 
In global tourism scenario, these striking places are gasping because of their beauty and inflow of tourists. Even New Zealand is feeling the impact of allowing unrestricted access to sensitive places. Picture postcard settings are spoiled by streams of visitors arriving by busloads, or parked up in backpacker vans without a loo in sight.

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