Sources said the Malay local government is taking very seriously the findings uncovered by a wide-ranging survey conducted late last year by a specially commissioned research team and presented on January 3 at a meeting of the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) led by Mayor John Yap.

Among other startling findings, the survey suggests that a major threat to tourism is a growing negative image of Boracay among foreigners resulting from the relentless commercialism along White Beach.

The survey was done at the initiative of SB member Wilbec Gelito and Commodore Leonard Tirol, a former commander of the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary on Boracay. Tirol presented the findings that were based on interviews with 655 respondents consisting of tourists, resort owners, bar owners and other business owners. The survey lasted one month.

Based on the results, Tirol noted mounting evidence that foreign tourists are not enjoying their stay on Boracay. This is because the incessant harassment by vendors and` “commissioners” selling everything from fake sunglasses to island hopping cruises ruins their overall vacation and leisure experience.

Tourists also said the daily presence of too many sailboats, speedboats and pump-boats off White Beach and non-stop water-sports were depriving them of the natural beauty of the seascape and the breathtaking Boracay sunset.

Taken together, these comments are creating a negative impression of Boracay that foreign tourists take back with them to their homelands.

“Boracay became world famous because of word of mouth from foreign backpackers and tourists,” Tirol said.

“Today, foreign tourists are apparently not too happy with Boracay and they’re telling their families and friends about it. Do we want word of mouth to kill Boracay?”
A set of proposed solutions was presented to forestall further damage to Boracay’s international reputation as the preferred Philippine leisure destination and one of the most preferred in the world.

Tirol said the solutions aim to “…clear White Beach and restore it to what it was in the 80s when White Beach was defined as Paradise on Earth.”

These recommendations involve:
• Building two marinas to remove commercial sea vessels from the immediate vicinity of White Beach. One marina will be built in the Cagban area down south; the other up north in Baling-hai. Pump-boats, sailboats and speedboats will have to dock at the marinas and not anywhere along White Beach as is the present practice.
• Prohibiting pump-boats and sailboats from doing business in the area from Boracay Terraces in the north to Station 3 in the south. Business will take place at the marinas.

• Besides preventing sea vessels from becoming eyesores, this proposal should also assist coral growth. The disturbances caused by sea vessels and water-sports have consistently been identified as major factors in stunting coral growth on Boracay’s reefs, which are the source of the island’s powdery white sand.

• Relocating all water sports (jet skiing, banana boating and the like) to the mainland. This will also help spread tourism wealth to more mainlanders in the coastal barangays, said Tirol.
He also believes tourists won’t mind the short 15 minute boat ride to the mainland from Cagban to have participate in water-sports. Tourists understand that traveling is part of the overall experience.

• Strictly regulating the activities of vendors and commissioners on White Beach. The persistence and ubiquitous presence of these people is what most survey respondents disliked about their Boracay experience.
Vendors and commissio­ners will have to do business at the marinas or on the mainland and not on White Beach.

• Decongesting Boracay by relocating tourism businesses to the mainland. There will be more money to be made since tourism businesses on the mainland will be grouped together in one location along the coast fronting Cagban.

Resorts will also arrange for the transportation of their guests to water-sports locations on the mainland, Tirol believes.

These proposals intend to restore peace and tranquility to White Beach, Tirol said. He noted that Mayor Yap was quite receptive to the recommendations.

Tirol said that the survey unleashed “…the voice of the people and the tourists, who bring in the money. We should not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.” (Art Villasanta)