Cruise ship ban sought in Boracay

MANILA, Philippines — Cruise ships should not be allowed to dock in Boracay at any time given the limited carrying capacity of the resort island.

This was the suggestion of reelectionist Sen. Nancy Binay, who said the presence of cruise ships with over 3,000 tourists does not really translate to increased income for the locals in the island.

Binay stressed a study should first be conducted on whether tourists from cruise ships really spend money while in Boracay.

Binay noted Boracay has not been fully rehabilitated, months after the island reopened in October 2018. President Duterte ordered the island off limits to allow a massive rehabilitation.

Binay also suggested that tourism officials should conduct briefings for tourists on the “dos and don’ts” before they get to Boracay.

She cited reports that Chinese tourists topped the number of violators of environmental regulations in the island.

“There were those reports. At the moment, Boracay needs to be fully rehabilitated for full accommodation. We do not want to go back to that cesspool problem, we should take it easy in promoting Boracay,” Binay said in an interview with dwIZ.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) earlier implemented “close-out” dates in barring cruise ships from docking in Boracay.

The DOT implemented the close-out dates from April 16 until the end of May.

The DOT said it will also implement more close-out dates within the year, particularly from Oct. 26 to November in observance of All Saints and All Souls Days and on Nov. 23 to Jan. 25 the following year for the SEA Games, Christmas and New Year holidays.

The DOT said the close-out dates were agreed last year during the meeting with the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF), the Philippine Ports Authority, Aklan Port, Tourism Congress of the Philippines, Boracay Foundation and all cruise lines, port agents and shore excursion companies operating in the Philippines.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the DOT is looking to add more block-off dates for the entry of cruise ships to Boracay, in a bid to ensure the carrying capacity of the island is met.

Puyat added they might list Aug. 24 to 26 as block-off dates in line with the celebration of National Heroes Day since many tourists are expected to flock to Boracay due to the long weekend.

She added the good thing about these block-off dates is that cruise ships are diverted to lesser known destinations in the country such as Ilocos Norte and Sur, Subic and Iloilo, among others.

As this developed, the number of accredited establishments in Boracay have reached 347, the BIATF said in its latest bulletin.

Based on the updated list, eight more establishments with a total of 793 rooms have been cleared to operate by the BIATF. This brings the total accredited number of rooms to 12,876.

Only accommodation establishments that have complied with the requirements of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the DOT are accredited by the BIATF.

Puyat earlier said the BIATF would continue to accredit compliant accommodation establishments. – With Catherine Talavera