Philippines Closes Boracay for Six Months

The Philippines has closed the island Boracay because of concerns over damage to one of the destination’s shores.

According to news reports, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte announced, at a cabinet meeting, that the island will shut down on April 26.

Duterte originally brought up the issue in February, saying that the island was turning into a “cesspool” because some tourism businesses had been dumping waste into waters surrounding the island. At the time, Duterte accused hotels, restaurants, and other businesses on the island of “serious neglect of duty.”

No details have been released about how the island will be shut down, though the government has considered closing it in phases to lessen the damage to the islands’ 500-tourism related businesses. The government has also considered providing aid to businesses that will suffer during the shutdown.

Boracay was ranked as the best island in the world by Travel + Leisure in 2012 and was awarded the top island award on Conde Nast Traveler’s Best Islands in the World list in 2014.

According to the Philippine’s Department of Tourism, almost 1.8 million people visited Boracay in 2016 and more than 2 million visited it in 2017. Tourism alone brought in $1.07 billion to the island last year.