MANILA, Philippines — Local and foreign tourists were seen enjoying the world-famous island Boracay before it closes on Thursday.
Starting Thursday, April 26, tourists will no longer be allowed to enter Boracay as it is set to be rehabilitated by government agencies. The closure order would take effect for six months.
“They will not be open to tourists. Remember the tourists are the ones, the subject of the closure is for the tourist. They will be open but the one for the locals,” Tourism Assistant Secretary Frederick Alegre, spokesman of the tourism agency, said last April 17.
Workers and members of the press who wish to visit Boracay for business purposes would need to secure permit from the authorities. Even visitors of the local residents will only be allowed upon clerance by a security committee.
Carriers Philippines Airlines and Cebu Pacific announced suspension of flights to and from Caticlan and Kalibo, Aklan following the six-month closure order of Boracay for rehabilitation.
Alegre, however, clarified that tourists who have bookings beyond April 26 would still be allowed.
“The Secretary of Tourism has stated that for those who arrived on the 24th, on the 25th… they can stay up to the prescribed period of their booking but not beyond that. And we are looking at no extension beyond their original booking,” Alegre said.
“If that means that they have to stay from the 26th to the 28th, the responsibility will be coming from the hotel operator to tell us that they have indeed people that have booked all the way to the 28th so that they can be allowed to finish their booking,” he added.
The tourism official said new bookings beyond 25th and 26th will no longer be allowed.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said the closure of the island would last for six months but it would have a soft opening during the fourth month or in August.
Here are some photos of local and international tourists enjoying Boracay ahead of its closure:
Tourists pose for a picture beside a sand castle sculpture in Boracay on April 24, 2018, ahead of its closure. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the once-idyllic white-sand resort closed to tourists for up to six months from April 26, after describing the country's top tourist attraction as a "cesspool" tainted by raw sewage. AFP/Noel Celis
Tourists leave after vacationing on Boracay on April 24, 2018, ahead of its closure. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the once-idyllic white-sand resort closed to tourists for up to six months from April 26, after describing the country's top tourist attraction as a "cesspool" tainted by raw sewage. AFP/Noel Celis
Philippine Coast Guard personnel walk in front tourists leaving Boracay on April 24, 2018, ahead of its closure. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the once-idyllic white-sand resort closed to tourists for up to six months from April 26, after describing the country's top tourist attraction as a "cesspool" tainted by raw sewage. AFP/Noel Celis
Tourists and residents walk past a security check at the Caticlan jetty port to get to Boracay on April 24, 2018, ahead of its closure. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the once-idyllic white-sand resort closed to tourists for up to six months from April 26, after describing the country's top tourist attraction as a "cesspool" tainted by raw sewage. AFP/Noel Celis
Porters carry the luggage of tourists that came vacationing in Boracay on April 24, 2018, ahead of its closure. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the once-idyllic white-sand resort closed to tourists for up to six months from April 26, after describing the country's top tourist attraction as a "cesspool" tainted by raw sewage. AFP/Noel Celis
Tourists are seen at the white sands beach of Boracay on April 24, 2018, ahead of its closure. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the once-idyllic white-sand resort closed to tourists for up to six months from April 26, after describing the country's top tourist attraction as a "cesspool" tainted by raw sewage. AFP/Noel Celis
Tourists practice with paddleboards during a sunset in Philippine's Boracay island on April 24, 2018, ahead of its closure. Police with assault rifles patrolled entry points to Boracay island on April 24 just days before a six-month shutdown and clean-up of one of the Philippines' top tourist attractions. AFP/Noel Celis
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