Boracay (; sometimes shortened by non-natives as 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 in Malay, Aklan, and had a population of 37,802 in 2020.
Boracay was originally inhabited by the Tumandok and Ati people people, but commercial development has led to their severe marginalization since the 1970s.
Apart from its white sand beaches, Boracay is also famous for being one of the world's top destinations for relaxation. , it was emerging among the top destinations for tranquility and nightlife.
International travel magazine Travel + Leisure ranked Boracay as the Best Island in the World in 2012. In 2014, the resort island was at the top of the "Best Islands in the World" list published by the international magazine Condé Nast Traveler. In 2016, Boracay headed the magazine's list of "Top 10 destinations to watch".
In April 2018, the Philippine government, under President Rodrigo Duterte, decreed a six-month closure of the island for tourists to undertake major renovation works, especially of the sewage system, which had become obsolete and insufficient. The island was administered by the Boracay Inter-agency Task Force during the closure. It reopened in October 2018, with a new set of rules meant to address a variety of issues, and help control tourist growth in the future. Under the new rules, the Boracay beachfront was cleared of masseuses, bonfires, beach vendors and sunset bonfires. Buildings were bulldozed and beach businesses set back to create a 30 metre buffer zone from the waterline.
The Boracay Ati-atihan in January 2024 witnessed a record-breaking number of tourists, with 36,741 people participating in the event. This festival, which celebrates the cultural heritage of the Ati indigenous people, has been a major draw for tourists and is set to be elevated as a major tourism attraction for the island starting in 2025.
The island is sometimes referred to as simply "Bora" by outsiders for convenience. However locals including tourism stakeholders have highly discouraged the use of the name which is widely considered to be derogatory or disrespectful. Among the reasons include to distinguish Boracay from the island of Bora Bora of the French Polynesia.
The municipal government of Malay passed an ordinance in February 2011, mandating its municipal licensing office to refuse licenses to businesses seeking to operate under a name including "Bora" rather than "Boracay". Usage of the diminutive is also prohibited in promotional materials and business activities.
The Tumandok also established an indigenous presence on the island, although the identities of the two indigenous peoples is often conflated. A 1905 report by the Taft Commission documented the continuing presence of both groups on the island. referred to there as "Buracay".
Before the advent of tourism, Boracay was largely an agricultural community. Around 1910, Sofía Gonzáles Tirol and her husband Lamberto Hontiveros Tirol (a town judge on the Panay mainland) took ownership of substantial properties on the island. They planted coconuts, fruit trees and greenery. Others followed the Tirols, and cultivation and development of the island gradually spread. The production of copra and fishing were major industries in the island.
However, due to overharvesting by fishers and the destruction of coral reefs due to cyanide fishing, the fishing industry saw a decline. By the 1980s, the price of copra had declined, encouraging tourism as an alternative source of income for the island.
In 1978, President Ferdinand Marcos issued a proclamation naming Boracay among a number of islands, coves and peninsulas declared as tourist zones.
Then-president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared Boracay a Special Tourism Zone in 2005, and in April 2006 she gave the PTA administrative control over the island while mandating the agency to coordinate with the provincial government of Aklan.
In 2012, the Philippine Department of Tourism reported that Boracay had been named the world's second best beach after Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In April 2018, the Philippine Army's 301st Infantry Brigade confirmed that 200 soldiers were deployed to Boracay to secure the island during its shutdown starting April 26.
On October 26, 2018, Boracay was reopened to the public with work on the island's infrastructure still in progress. In April 2019, numerous Chinese-owned businesses were opened in Boracay, and additionally, there are about 300 mainland Chinese residents. In April 2019, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that the Department of Labor and Employment has no control over foreign businesses setting up shop on the island, but that it vows to ensure that no Chinese national could take jobs fit for Filipinos.
Efforts to maintain the pristine condition of the beaches and the introduction of environmentally-friendly practices such as the use of biodegradable products and electric tricycles have significantly contributed to the island's recovery. The absence of plastic and a renewed focus on sustainability were key highlights of introduced in 2023.
Following the Boracay cleanup, Duterte distributed 623 certificates of land-ownership awards covering of land in Boracay and Aklan to the area's Ati people inhabitants and other beneficiaries.
South-facing Cagban Beach is located across a small strait from the jetty port at Caticlan on Panay Island, and the Cagban jetty port serves as Boracay's main entry and exit point during most of the year. When wind and sea conditions dictate, east-facing Tambisaan Beach serves as an alternative entry and exit point. History & Geography | Boracay Island | Boracay's Official Tourism SiteBoracay Island | Boracay's Official Tourism Site (archived from the original on December 13, 2013) Boracay's two primary tourism beaches, White Beach and Bulabog Beach, are located on opposite sides of the island's narrow central area. White Beach faces westward and Bulabog Beach faces eastward. The island also has several other beaches.
White Beach, the main tourism beach, is about long and is lined with resorts, hotels, lodging houses, restaurants, and other tourism-related businesses. In the central portion, for about two kilometers, there is a footpath known as the Beachfront Path separating the beach itself from the establishments located along it. North and south of the Beachfront Path, beachfront establishments do literally front along the beach itself. Several roads and paths connect the Beachfront Path with Boracay's Main Road, a vehicular road which runs the length of the island. At the extreme northern end of White Beach, a footpath runs around the headland there and connects White Beach with Diniwid Beach.
Bulabog Beach, across the island from White Beach, is the second most popular tourism beach on the island and Boracay's main windsurfing and kitesurfing area.
Boracay is divided for land use and conservation purposes into reserved forestland and agricultural land. Boracay to be developed as forest land – DENR official, gmanews.tv SC affirms Proclamation 1064 on Boracay , inquirer.netJay B. Rempillo, [8], Supreme Court of the Philippines.
On Boracay, the main indicator of the switch between the Amihan and Habagat seasonal patterns is the switch in wind direction. In most years this transition is abrupt and occurs overnight. In some years there is a period of perhaps a week or two where the wind will switch between Amihan and Habagat patterns several times before settling into the pattern for the new season. As a rule of thumb, Boracay will be in the Amihan weather pattern from sometime in October to sometime in March and in the Habagat weather pattern for the remainder of the year.
Temperatures in Malay municipality province generally ranged between in 2009–2019, with a low of in February 2014 and high of in October 2018, ranging more widely in 2019, with a low of in March and a high of in May. During Tropical low periods, temperatures can fall below . Tropical storms can impact Boracay at any time of year, but are most likely to be seen during the Habagat season.
According to the Coastal Ecosystem Conservation and Adaptive Management (CECAM), a study led by the Japan International Cooperation Agency conducted from 2010 to 2015 noted a 70.5 percent decrease of Boracay's coral cover from 1988 to 2011. The study attributed the increased drop in coral cover from 2008 to 2011 to the 38.4 percent increase of tourist arrivals combined with poorly monitored snorkeling activity in coral-rich areas. The Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI) made efforts to remedy the situation by launching a "refurbishment" program for the corals. In 2017, the BFI claimed the number of corals in Boracay increased from 15 to 20 percent since 2015 due to its project.
In 2004, only 51 percent of hotels and restaurants in Boracay and 25 percent of all households were connected to the island's central sewage system. In 2005, Boracay was declared a "special tourism zone". In April 2006, Arroyo gave the PTA administrative control over Boracay, to be exercised in coordination with the provincial government. In 2009, Boracay Water (BIWC), won a contract to improve the supply of potable water and install an efficient sewerage system.
Boracay has experienced abnormally high algae growth since February 2015, due to sewage being dumped into the waters surrounding the islands. In early 2018, 50 to 60 percent of all establishments in Boracay were compliant to the Clean Water Act of 2004 according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
In June 2011, it was reported that Megaworld Corporation, a real estate development group led by Andrew Tan had earmarked to develop tourism estates in Boracay and Cavite. The planned Boracay project, Boracay Newcoast, involves four hotels with 1,500 rooms, a plaza and an entertainment center.
Other resorts in Boracay include Discovery Shores, a luxury five-star resort managed by a Filipino hospitality group called The Discovery Leisure Company Inc. and owned by Discovery World Corp. The building, with 88 suites, a spa, and four restaurants and bars, stands at Station One on the White Beach, and has been described as "more Miami chic than hidden oasis."
The island has the highest density of merchants that accept bitcoin outside of El Salvador. There is a movement to dub the island "Bitcoin Island" and bootstrap a circular economy similar to Bitcoin Beach.
Boracay is the site of an 18-hole par 72 golf course designed by Graham Marsh. Fairways & Bluewater Golf Resort, Graham Marsh Golf Design . In addition, , Boracay has in excess of 350 beach resorts offering more than 2,000 rooms ranging in quality from five-star to budget accommodation. In addition, Boracay offers a wide range of restaurants, bars, pubs, and nightclubs.
A landmark natural rock formation, Boracay's Rock, juts prominently directly in front of Willy's Beach Resort.
Boracay is aiming for 2.3 million tourist arrivals in 2024, a slight increase from 2023's target, indicating a robust interest in Boracay as a prime tourist destination.
Dragon boat races are held annually in Boracay under the auspices of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation, with teams coming from around the Philippines and from other Asian nations to compete. The races usually take place sometime in April or May. The 2012 Boracay Edition of the PDBF International Club Crew Challenge was scheduled for April 26–28, 2012. PDBF International Club Crew Challenge: Boracay Edition at Official Website of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation.
The Boracay Open Asian Beach Ultimate Tournament, an ultimate frisbee event, with players coming from around the Philippines and from other international nations, has been held annually since 2003, usually in March or April.The Boracay Open Asian Beach Ultimate Tournament is organized by the .
The well-known Ati-Atihan Festival takes place each January in Kalibo on nearby Panay Island. A much smaller Ati-Atihan festival is celebrated in Boracay, usually in the second or third week of January.
Boracay is served by two airports in Aklan: the Kalibo International Airport and Godofredo P. Ramos Airport (commonly referred to as Caticlan airport or Boracay airport).
The three main modes of transport are via motor-tricycles and electric-tricycles (e-trikes) along the main road, or by walking along the beaches. Pedicabs, known as sikads, are also available along the Beachfront Path. Other means of transportation include , quadbikes and Motorcycle, all of which can be rented. It was reported in October 2018 that the island will see modern jeepneys, solar-powered shuttles, and hop-on hop-off buses serviced by Grab, and that the Department of Energy will donate 200 e-trikes to the Malay local government under a project funded by the Asian Development Bank.
, the municipal government of Malay was encouraging motorcycle operators to transition to e-trikes in their coordinated efforts to promote environment-friendly public transportation. Diesel-motor tricycles are expected to be phased out by August 2018.
In 2019, San Miguel Corporation proposed a limited-access bridge to connect the island of Boracay to the mainland of Panay. As of February 2024, the unsolicited project proposal is under negotiation and has been included in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) funding for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects. Upon completion, travel time between Iloilo City and Boracay will be reduced to 2.5 hours from the current 6 to 7 hours through the bridge and the Iloilo–Capiz–Aklan Expressway, both of which are part of the DPWH's PPP infrastructure projects. A Framework for Delivering PPPs as Part of a Broader Infrastructure Strategy. iloilocity.gov.ph. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
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