Boracay

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Boracay

White Beach, Boracay

Boracay

Location of Boracay

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Geography
 11°58′8″N121°55′26″ECoordinates:
Coordinates
11°58′8″N 121°55′26″E

Archipelago Visayas


Adjacent bodies of Jintotolo Channel

water  Sibuyan Sea

 Sulu Sea

 Tablas Strait

Area 10.32 km2 (3.98 sq mi)

Highest elevation 100 m (300 ft)

Highest point Mount Luho

Administration

Philippines

Region Western Visayas

Province Aklan

Municipality Malay

Barangays  Balabag

 Manoc-Manoc

 Yapak

Demographics

Population 28,369 [1] (2010)

Pop. density 1,163 /km2(3,012 /sq mi)

Ethnic groups  Ati

 Aklanon
  Hiligaynon

 Karay-a

Boracay is a small island in the Philippines located approximately 315 kilometres (196 mi) south
of Manila and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) off the northwest tip of Panay Island in Western Visayas region of
the Philippines. Boracay Island and its beaches have received awards from numerous travel
publications and agencies.[Note 1] The island comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and
Yapak in the municipality of Malay, in Aklan Province. The island is administered by the Tourism
Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority and the provincial government of Aklan. Apart from its
white sand beaches, Boracay is also famous for being one of the world's top destinations for
relaxation.[11][12] As of 2013 it was emerging among the top destinations for tranquility and nightlife.[13]
Boracay was awarded as the 2012 best island in the world from the international travel
magazine Travel + Leisure.[14][15] In 2014, the resort island was at the top of the Best Islands in the
World list published by the international magazine Condé Nast Traveler.[16] In 2016, Boracay headed
the magazine's list of Top 10 destinations to watch.[17]
In April 2018 the Philippine Government decreed a 6-month closure of the island for tourists to
undertake major renovation works, especially of the sewerage system, which had become obsolete
and insufficient.[18]. It re-opened in October 2018 with a set of new rules meant to address a variety of
issues [19][20].

Contents

 1Etymology
 2History
o 2.1Pre-colonial period
o 2.2Contemporary period
 2.2.1As an agricultural island
 2.2.2Influx of tourism (1970s to 1997)
 2.2.31997 to 2018
 2.2.42018 closure
 3Geography
o 3.1Governance
 4Climate
 5Environment
o 5.1Fauna
o 5.2Sanitation
 6Tourism
o 6.1Leisure activities
o 6.2Statistics
 7Sports
o 7.1Asian Games Centennial Festival
 8Culture
 9Transportation
 10See also
 11Notes
 12References
 13Further reading
 14External links

Etymology[edit]
The name Boracay is attributed to different origins. One story says that it is derived from the local
word "borac" which means white cotton with characteristics close to the color and texture of
Boracay's white sugary and powdery sand.[21] Ati tradition states that the name of the island came
from the Inati words "bora," meaning bubbles, and "bocay," meaning white.[22] Yet another version
dating back to the Spanish era says the name is derived from "sagay," the word for a shell, and
"boray," the word for seed.[21]

History[edit]
Pre-colonial period[edit]
Boracay was originally home to the Ati people. Boracay Island was already an inhabited place before
the Spaniards came to the Philippines. It was known to the Iberian conquerors as Buracay. At the
time of contact with the Europeans, Buracay had a population of one hundred people, who cultivated
rice on the island and augmented their income by raising goats.[23]
Contemporary period[edit]
As an agricultural island[edit]
Boracay is part of Aklan, which became an independent province on April 25, 1956.[24][25][26]
Boracay was largely an agricultural community like other parts of the country.[27] Around 1900 A.D.,
Sofía Gonzáles Tirol and her husband Lamberto Hontiveros Tirol (a town judge on the Panay
mainland) took ownership of substantial properties on the island. They planted coconuts, fruit trees
and greenery. Others followed the Tirols, and cultivation and development of the island gradually
spread.[28] The production of copra and fishing were major industries in the island. However, due to
over harvesting by fishers and the destruction of coral reef due to cyanide fishing, the fishing
industry saw a decline. By the 1980s, the price of copra had declined, encouraging tourism as an
alternative source of income for the island.[27]
Influx of tourism (1970s to 1997)[edit]

Foreign tourists in Boracay, 1985.

Tourism came to the island beginning sometime in the 1970s.[29][30] In 1970, the movies Nam's
Angels (released in the U.S. as The Losers) and Too Late the Hero used filming locations on
Boracay and Caticlan.[31] There was an influx of Western tourists after German writer Jens Peter
called it "paradise on Earth" in his book about the Philippines in 1978.[32][33] In the 1980s, the island
became popular as a budget destination for backpackers.[24] By the 1990s, Boracay's beaches were
being acclaimed as the best in the world.[34] However in 1997, the tourist arrival to the resort island
dropped 60 percent due to the increase of coliform bacteria from poor sewage and septic system of
the island.[35]
1997 to 2018[edit]
The conditions of Boracay in 1997 led to the installment of a potable water supply system, a sewage
treatment plant and a solid waste disposal system in Boracay which was operated by the Philippine
Tourism Authority (PTA). The environmental concerns persisted due to noncompliance of numerous
business establishments.[35]
Then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared Boracay a Special Tourism Zone in 2005 while in
April 2006 she gave the PTA administrative control over the island while mandating the agency to
coordinate with the provincial government of Aklan.[35]
In 2012, the Philippine Department of Tourism reported that Boracay had been named the world's
second best beach after Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands.[36]
2018 closure[edit]
Main article: 2018 Boracay closure

Due to worsening environmental conditions in Boracay, President Rodrigo Duterte in February 2018
said he plans to close the resort island, which he described as a "cesspool", on April 26, 2018,
instructing Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu to resolve the issue.[37] In a
cabinet meeting, President Duterte approved the full closure of the island for six months, effective
April 26. 2018 to rehabilitate and resolve the environmental issues surrounding Boracay.[38] On May
30, 2018, President Duterte declared that he planned to make the entire Island of Boracay a land
reform area and wanted to prioritize Boracay's first inhabitants.[39][40]

Geography[edit]

Location of Boracay in Aklanprovince of Panay Island

Puka Beach on the northern shore of Boracay

Boracay Island is located off the northwest corner of Panay Island, and belongs to the Western
Visayas island-group, or Region VI, of the Philippines. The island is approximately seven kilometers
long, dog-bone shaped with the narrowest spot being less than one kilometer wide, and has a total
land area of 10.32 square kilometers.
South-facing Cagban Beach is located across a small strait from the jetty port at Caticlan on Panay
island, and the Cagban jetty port serves as Boracay's main entry and exit point during most of the
year. When wind and sea conditions dictate, east-facing Tambisaan Beach serves as an alternative
entry and exit point.[41] Boracay's two primary tourism beaches, White Beach and Bulabog Beach, are
located on opposite sides of the island's narrow central area. White Beach faces westward and
Bulabog Beach faces eastward. The island also has several other beaches.
White Beach, the main tourism beach, is about four kilometers long and is lined with resorts, hotels,
lodging houses, restaurants, and other tourism-related businesses. In the central portion, for about
two kilometers, there is a footpath known as the Beachfront Path separating the beach itself from the
establishments located along it. North and south of the Beachfront Path, beachfront establishments
do literally front along the beach itself. Several roads and paths connect the Beachfront Path with
Boracay's Main Road, a vehicular road which runs the length of the island. At the extreme northern
end of White Beach, a footpath runs around the headland there and connects White Beach with
Diniwid Beach.
Bulabog Beach, across the island from White Beach, is the second most popular tourism beach on
the island and Boracay's main windsurfing and kiteboardingarea.
Boracay is divided for land use and conservation purposes into 400 hectares of preserved forestland
and 628.96 hectares of agricultural land.[42][43][44][45][46][47]
Governance[edit]
The whole of Boracay island is under the jurisdiction of the town of Malay of Aklan province. There
are three barangays in Boracay; Balabag, Manoc-Manoc, and Yapak.

Climate[edit]
 hideClimate data for Boracay (Malay, Aklan, Aug 2016-Jul 2017)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
29 29 31 33 35 34 33 33 33
Average high °C (°F)
(84) (84) (88) (91) (95) (93) (91) (91) (91
29 28 27 30 32 31 30 30 30
Average low °C (°F)
(84) (82) (81) (86) (90) (88) (86) (86) (86
333 24 59 65 47 209 196 172 103
Average rainfall mm (inches)
(13.1) (0.9) (2.3) (2.6) (1.9) (8.2) (7.7) (6.8) (4.1
Average rainy days 31 24 26 15 22 28 26 19 23
Source: World Weather Online[48]

Map of Boracay Island.

Weather in Boracay is generally divided into two seasonal weather patterns known locally as
the Amihan and Habagat seasons. In the Visayan language, Amihan means a cool northeast wind,
and Habagat means west or southwest wind; southwest monsoon.[49] The Amihan season is
characterized by moderate temperatures, little or no rainfall, and a prevailing wind from the
northeast. The Habagat season is characterized by hot and humid weather, frequent heavy rainfall,
and a prevailing wind from the west.[50]
On Boracay, the main indicator of the switch between the Amihan and Habagat seasonal patterns is
the switch in wind direction. In most years this transition is abrupt and occurs overnight. In some
years there is a period of perhaps a week or two where the wind will switch between Amihan and
Habagat patterns several times before settling into the pattern for the new season. As a rule of
thumb, Boracay will be in the Amihan weather pattern from sometime in October to sometime in
June and in the Habagat weather pattern for the remainder of the year.[51]
Daytime temperatures on Boracay generally range from 77–90 °F (25–32 °C) from the beginning of
the Amihan season into February or March, and increase to the 82–100 °F (28–38 °C) range with
the onset of the Habagat season.[52] During Tropical Storm periods, temperatures can fall below
68 °F (20 °C). Tropical Storms can impact Boracay at any time of year, but are most likely to be seen
during the Habagat season.[53]
Environment[edit]
Fauna[edit]
At least three species of flying foxes has been recorded to inhabit Boracay namely the giant golden-
crowned flying fox (Aceradon jubatus), the giant fruit bat (Pteropus vampyrus), and the small flying
fox (Pteropus hypomelanus). Their population is concentrated on the northern side of the island in
Barangay Yapak where the hunting of bats was made illegal through a local ordinance.[54]
According to the Coastal Ecosystem Conservation and Adaptive Management (CECAM), a study led
by the Japan International Cooperation Agency conducted from 2010 to 2015 noted a 70.5 percent
decrease of Boracay's coral cover from 1988 to 2011. The study attributed the worse drop in coral
cover from 2008 to 2011 to the 38.4 percent increase of tourist arrivals combined with poorly
monitored snorkeling activity in coral rich areas.[55][56] The Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI) made efforts
to remedy the situation by launching a "reefurbishment" program for the corals. In 2017, the BFI
claimed the number of corals in Boracay increased from 15 to 20 percent since 2015 due to its
project.[57]
Sanitation[edit]

Algal bloom in Boracay on April 25, 2018, a day prior to the island's closure

Boracay has been experiencing an increased coliform bacteria population since the 1990s which
contributed to a 60 percent decline in tourist arrivals in 1997. Although a potable water supply
system, a solid waste disposal system, as well as a sewage treatment plant which began operation
in 2003 were installed to remedy the insufficient sewage and septic conditions in the island,
environmental concerns regarding coliform bacteria persisted due to noncompliance of some
business establishments in the island.[35]
In 2004, only 51 percent of hotels and restaurants in Boracay and 25 percent of all households were
connected to the island's central sewage system. In 2005, Boracay was declared a "special tourism
zone". In April 2006, Arroyo gave the PTA administrative control over Boracay, to be exercised in
coordination with the provincial government. In 2009, Boracay Island Water Co. (BIWC), won a
contract to improve the supply of potable water and install an efficient sewerage system.[35]
Boracay has experienced abnormally high algae growth since February 2015, due to sewage being
dumped into the waters surrounding the islands.[35] In early 2018, 50 to 60 percent of all
establishments in Boracay were compliant to the Clean Water Act of 2004 according to
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.[58]

Tourism[edit]
Local and foreign tourists in White Beach, Boracay with paraw sailboats in the background.

A t-shirt shop in Boracay selling hand-made clothing featuring the island.

Partly because of its wind and weather patterns, tourism in Boracay is at its peak during
the amihan season(which starts in September or October and ends sometime in May or June).
During amihan, the prevailing wind blows from the east. Boracay's main tourism area, White Beach,
is on the western side of the island and is sheltered from the wind. During the Amihan season, the
water off White Beach is often glassy-smooth. On the eastern side of the island, hills on the northern
and southern ends of the island channel the Amihan season wind from the east onshore, onto
Bulabog Beach in the central part of the island's eastern side. This makes the reef-protected waters
off that beach relatively safe[59] and ideal for scuba diving, windsurfing, and kiteboarding / kitesurfing.
In June 2011, it was reported that Megaworld Corporation, a real estate development group led
by Andrew Tanhad earmarked PHP20 billion to develop tourism estates "featuring an integrated,
master-planned layout and world-class resort offerings and amenities" in Boracay and Cavite. The
planned Boracay project, Boracay Newcoast, involves four hotels with 1,500 rooms, a plaza and an
entertainment center.[60]
Other resorts in Borocay include Discovery Shores, a luxury five-star resort managed by a Filipino
hospitality group called The Discovery Leisure Company Inc. and owned by Discovery World
Corp.[61][62] The building, with 88 suites, a spa, and four restaurants and bars,[63][64] stands at Station
One on the White Beach, and has been described as "more Miami chic than hidden oasis."[65]
Leisure activities[edit]
Leisure activities available on or near Boracay include horseback riding, scuba diving, diving
helmet, snorkeling, windsurfing, kiteboarding, cliff diving, parasailing.
Boracay is the site of an 18-hole par 72 golf course designed by Graham Marsh.[66] In addition, as of
2010, Boracay has in excess of 350 beach resorts offering more than 2,000 rooms ranging in quality
from five-star to budget accommodation.[67] In addition, Boracay offers a wide range of restaurants,
bars, pubs, and nightclubs.
A landmark natural rock formation, Boracay's Rock, juts prominently directly in front of Willy's Beach
Resort.
Statistics[edit]
According to the Department of Tourism of the Philippines, there was a recorded 1,725,483 visitors
to Boracay in 2016. In 2015, there were 250 thousand fewer people who visited the island.
Assuming the average length of stay of tourists to Boracay is three days, there were 14,182 tourists
in Boracay daily in 2016, not counting the official population of 33,109.[68] According to Malay
municipal records more than two million tourists visited the island in 2017.[58]

Sports[edit]

Kitesurfers in Boracay.

Boracay is one competitive venue for the Asian Windsurfing Tour,[69] with the week-long Boracay
International Funboard Cup competition usually held in January on Bulabog Beach. In 2010, the
event dates are January 25 – 31.[70] CNNGo, a division of CNN focused on
travel/lifestyle/entertainment, selected the Boracay International Funboard Competition on the
weekend of January 22–24 as one of its 52 weekend recommendations for 2010.[71]
Dragon boat races are held annually on Boracay under the auspices of the Philippine Dragon Boat
Federation, with teams coming from around the Philippines and from other Asian nations to
compete. The races usually take place sometime in April or May. The 2012 Boracay Edition of the
PDBF International Club Crew Challenge to is scheduled for April 26–28, 2012.[72]
The Boracay Open Asian Beach Ultimate Tournament, an ultimate frisbee event, with players
coming from around the Philippines and from other International nations, has been held annually
since 2003, usually in March or April.[73]
Asian Games Centennial Festival[edit]
Boracay was scheduled to host a special multi-sport event in 2013. At its 31st General Assembly
in Macau, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) decided to create the Asian Games Centennial
Festival in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Oriental Games (later Far Eastern
Championship Games).[74] OCA awarded the hosting rights to the Philippines as it had been the host
of the first Far Eastern Championship Games held in Manila 100 years earlier. The festival was to be
held on Boracay in November 2013.[75] However, it had to be rescheduled and relocated because
of Typhoon Haiyan, with the ceremony eventually taking place at the Sofitel Plaza in Manila on
January 17, 2014. The 32nd OCA General Assembly was to be held in conjunction with the
games.[76]

Culture[edit]
The Ati community in Boracay.

The first settlers of Boracay were a Negrito people called the Ati, and who spoke a Visayan
language called Inati.[77]Later settlers brought other languages to the island, including Aklanon (as
Boracay is part of Aklan province), Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Kinaray-a, Capiznon, other Visayan
languages, Filipino, and English.
The well-known Ati-Atihan Festival takes place each January in Kalibo on nearby Panay Island. A
much smaller Ati-Atihan festival is celebrated on Boracay, usually in the second or third week of
January.[citation needed]

Transportation[edit]

The tricycle functions like taxis and are the primary mode of transportation in Boracay

Boracay island is separated from Panay island by a narrow strait. The island is located opposite the
barangay of Caticlan in the municipality of Malay, Aklan. Transportation across the strait is provided
by boats operating from the Caticlan jetty port.[citation needed] Cagban Port serves as the primary sea
transportation hub for passengers going into Boracay but the island lacks any formal seaport for
cargo transport and waste disposal. Goods are delivered into Boracay through an informal port near
the Cagban Port.[78]
Boracay is served by two airports in Aklan: the Kalibo International Airport and Godofredo P. Ramos
Airport commonly referred to as the Caticlan airport.
The three main modes of transport are via motor-tricycles and electric-tricycles (e-trikes) along the
main road, or by walking along the beaches. Pedicabs, known as sikads, are also available along
the Beachfront Path. Other means of transportation include mountain
bikes, quadbikes and motorbikes, all of which can be rented. It was reported in October of 2018 that
the island will see modern jeepneys, solar-powered shuttles, and hop-on hop-off buses serviced
by Grab, and that the Department of Energy will dona.te 200 e-trikes to the Malay local government
under a 1.73 billion peso project funded by the Asian Development Bank.[79]
The municipal government of Malay is currently encouraging motorcycle operators to transition to e-
trikes in their coordinated efforts to promote environment-friendly public transportation. Diesel-motor
tricycles are expected to be phased out by by August 2018.[80]