Compliant Boracay hotel rooms reach 13,064

The number of compliant Boracay hotels continues to grow with a total of 364 accommodation establishments accredited by the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF).

In its latest bulletin, the BIATF said it has given the go signal to six more Boracay hotels. This brings the total to 13,064 rooms. Only accommodation establishments that have complied with the requirements of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Tourism (DOT) are allowed to operate in the island destination.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette RomuloPuyat earlier said the BIATF would continue to accredit compliant accommodation establishments.

“More rooms will be available as we continue with Phase 2 and 3 of the Boracay rehabilitation. We are making sure the task force’s requirements are complied with 100 percent,” Puyat said.

The task force urged the public to avoid booking with establishments that have no permits from the DOT, DENR and DILG.

Before the island’s closure in April 2018, Boracay had roughly 15,000 to 16,000 available rooms.

The government is limiting the number of tourists in Boracay to ensure the sustainability of the island, which was reopened in October last year after it was closed for rehabilitation for six months.

A study commissioned by the DENR showed that Boracay’s carrying capacity is only 55,757 people per day, including its residents. Only 19,215 tourists are allowed to be on the island at a certain time, with 6,405 tourists allowed to enter the island per day.

In a bid to ensure the carrying capacity of the island is met, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) earlier implemented a moratorium on the addition of new charter flights to Caticlan and Kalibo.

Tourism Undersecretary and spokesperson Benito Bengzon Jr. emphasized the moratorium only applies to new applications for chartered flights.

“Ensuring that we protect the environment, all of these initiatives are in line with the objective we have kept for ourselves, both the government and the private sector,” Bengzon said.

“But the challenge here is to really achieve an economic balance between such economic activity and protection of the environment,” he said.