Boracay closure, bad for economy — PCCI
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has warned against a plan to shut down Boracay even for a year as this will have negatively impact on the country’s economy.
In a statement, PCCI stressed this even as it fully supports the government’s efforts and political will to clean up all major tourism destinations in the country such as Boracay as this is necessary for the long term sustainability of the country’s tourism industry.
However, shutting down the island will also have on impact on the whole Philippine tourism product offering as the island is the most prominent beach and leisure destination and is included in the majority of tour packages sold overseas.
As of 2017, the tourism industry has been the third biggest contributor to the country’s GDP, and 20 percent of the total income generated by the industry comes from Boracay. According to the Department of Tourism (DOT), over two million local and international tourists visited Boracay last year which resulted to a growth rate of 16% from 2016. It also generated a total of 17,737 direct tourism jobs accounting to 66 percent of the entire Western Visayas region. DOT also reported that around 56 billion pesos of tourist spending is at risk in the impending rehabilitation of the island.
PCCI Director for Tourism Samie Lim suggests that “there should not be a complete shutdown of the island”, but instead “close one station at a time” for rehabilitation.
“Phasing is important so we are able to protect the interest of all parties concerned, especially the local residents whose income are dependent on Boracay’s economic activity,” Lim said.
Meanwhile, PCCI president Ma. Alegria Sibal-Limjoco said that she will call on the three secretaries, Wanda Teo of Tourism, Roy Cimatu of Environment and Natural Resources and Eduardo Año of Interior and Local Government, to discuss the planned rehabilitation of the island because it will affect a lot of local livelihoods and jobs.
PCCI believes that the situation in Boracay is a wake-up call for the government and private sector on the need to work together to ensure that our islands and tourist destinations are protected and sustained through comprehensive master planning that enables the right balance between economic growth and environmental preservation