On April 26, 2018, the Philippine resort island of

Boracay Boracay (; often locally shortened to Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of three barangays in Malay, Aklan ...

, one of the country's major tourist destinations, was temporarily closed to the general public as part of the government's efforts to rehabilitate and redevelop the island. As part of the closure, Boracay was closed for six months except to its registered residents and employees. The closure had a significant effect on the livelihood of local people. The government announced in 2022 that the closure had been successful in rehabilitating the island's environment.

Background

Boracay is a popular tourist island and the infrastructure needed to accommodate tourism was put in place at a fast pace. This caused environmental problems. ''

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club mem ...

'' magazine called Boracay "the poster child for overtourism". In particular, many businesses were discharging untreated sewer waste into the sea. The magazine quoted a tour operator who said the environmental problems on the island are '"the worst example of how to destroy a beautiful island"'. The amount of rubbish generated per person was said to be more than three times that in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

. In a business forum held on February 9, 2018, President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

called the island of