Shutting down

Last year, the country drew 6.6 million visitors, with South Korea accounting for 1.6 million. This year, South Korean Ambassador Han Dong-Man hopes to raise that number to 2 million.

Records show that the top destinations for Koreans last year were Cebu and Boracay, with direct flights available from South Korea. So Ambassador Han may find his objective harder to attain due to the planned shutdown of Boracay during the peak travel season.

In fact the government may have to drastically bring down its projected 7.4 million tourist arrivals this year if the prolonged shutdown pushes through. And the fallout will likely persist even when Boracay reopens, and affect other tourist destinations.

Why? Because let’s face it, Boracay isn’t the only prime travel destination contaminated by sewage in this country. Millions of Filipinos living in coastal communities lack modern sewerage systems, and where do you think they dump the waste?

So there’s always the possibility that Philippine officials could get up on the wrong side of the bed one day, look at a pristine beach and decide (perhaps correctly) that somewhere in that coastal community, a cesspool with fecal matter has developed, just waiting to be exposed to the world, and the beach will also be shut down.

And there go all those travel preparations. For top destinations such as Boracay during the peak season, such preparations are usually made months in advance so travelers can be assured of their preferred accommodations and flights as well as avail themselves of any early-bird discounts. Office leaves are also filed way ahead of the travel period so employee absences can be coordinated.

Sure, refunds are possible in case of a shutdown. But I’ve suffered the pain of seeking refunds for canceled flights, conference registration fee, airport shuttles and advance hotel payment because of trouble in a certain country. Months later, when everything was finally resolved, I swore that country would be last on my list of future travel destinations.

We have to remember that we are facing stiff tourism competition from our neighbors. Our jet-setting tourism officials like to crow that last year’s visitor arrivals were 11 percent higher than the 5.97 million in 2018 and that the figure accounted for one of the biggest growths in the region.

But tourism officials have Cebu and Boracay to thank for much of that increase, plus the South Koreans who added more direct flights to the Philippines. Boracay accounts for about a fifth of the nation’s tourism receipts.

The country’s arrival numbers are far less impressive in actual terms. Last year, Thailand drew an eye-watering 35.38 million foreign visitors, earning an enviable $56 billion. Malaysia followed, with 21.5 million visitors from January to October alone – and the country is disappointed with that number.

Tiny Singapore came third with 17.4 million followed by Vietnam with 12.9 million, and then Indonesia with 11.47 million even with Bali not yet fully recovered from the terrorist threat. Cambodia is closing in on the Philippines.

* * * No one likes cesspools and I’m all for cleaning up polluted beaches. A cleanup undoubtedly will make Boracay a better travel destination.

Only a toughie like Rodrigo Duterte can put an end to unregulated development in Boracay, with resorts constructed even on no-build zones. In fact as far back as a decade ago, I’ve been hearing regular Boracay visitors bemoaning overdevelopment on the island.

But Boracay’s world-famous main beach still looks as powdery white as ever, with the water just as sparkling. I’m no expert on ocean tides, but it doesn’t look like the cesspool on another part of the island is reaching the main strip.

If people are worried about human waste contaminating the sea, they wouldn’t go swimming at all, since honestly now, how many people bother leaving the water when they need to pee? People don’t even worry about swimming together with their dogs, which pee everywhere, possibly because of the belief that seawater kills germs. Salt is supposed to be antiseptic and antiinflammatory. We wash our hands when we touch fish in the market. So why do we readily swim with them in the sea? In Palawan, my favorite snorkeling area, you can be surrounded by a breathtaking array of fish of all sizes and colors while exploring the reefs.

And yet even Palawan isn’t completely free of pollution, for reasons I have mentioned. Will it also be shut down to make it a better travel destination? What about the favela that has sprouted along the slopes and destroyed the pine trees of Baguio City?

* * * Those who depend on Boracay tourism for their living have stressed that 36,000 people stand to lose their jobs and P56 billion in revenue lost if the island is shut down. The government jetsetters said the big establishments have given assurance that there would be no layoffs. But what happens to the small and micro players? Maybe the government wants to get rid of all the micro enterprises to make way for more large hotels and casinos.

Boracay stakeholders are suggesting a phased shutdown or at least a deferment of a total shutdown until the end of summer. Duterte, in typical fashion, said no one could stop him, although he hasn’t acted yet on the recommendation to start the shutdown on April 26.

No one is disputing the need for a thorough cleanup in Boracay; the question is how to go about it.

Another question is whether the same concern over pollution should be applied to other travel destinations. Boracay looks cleaner than many other beaches in this country. You can’t blame Boracay stakeholders for lamenting that they’re being unfairly singled out.

But the President has spoken: I want to shut it down, and no one can stop me. And all the sycophants have broken out in a chorus: yes, you can.

The stakeholders can console themselves with the thought that what doesn’t kill them should make them strong. They will have to suffer – lawbreakers and polluters and responsible stakeholders alike.

In the meantime, prospective travelers spooked by the uncertainty of their Philippine bookings can always go to Indonesia’s Bali or Thailand’s Phuket.