INTERVENTIONS, such as increasing the cost of visiting Boracay and limiting the number of tourists in the island, will prevent its degradation, according to local economists and an official of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) School of Economics Dean Cid Terosa noted that governments in other parts of the world have already imposed limits on tourist destinations and have adopted a pro-environment tourism strategy.

“Sustainable tourism requires steadfast observance of carrying capacity. It is a policy for the environment that will be good for both the rich and poor over a long period of time,” Terosa told the BusinessMirror over the weekend.

“Imposing limits is pro-environment and neither pro-rich nor pro-poor. Top tourism destinations around the world have observed this a long time ago. The Philippines is a pitiful latecomer,” he added.

University of the Philippines economist Toby Melissa C. Monsod told the BusinessMirror that Boracay is currently “underpriced” and as such prone to abuse. She said the low cost of visiting Boracay was actually one of the reasons that led to its six-month closure.

Monsod said implementing interventions that will help reflect the real market costs of a prime tourist destination such as Boracay will prevent “overconsumption.”

“If something is underpriced, wouldn’t you most likely overconsume it? So intervention in these cases is to help ensure that true economic costs and benefits are properly reflected in ‘market prices.’ In the case of the commons problem, individuals don’t recognize costs they impose on others; markets don’t reflect that cost. So services are underpriced,” Monsod said.

Neda Undersecretary for Regional Development Adoracion M. Navarro told reporters that the recommendation of the Neda Regional Development Office (RDO) is for the government to adopt a strategy that will limit the number of tourists and investments on the island in accordance with its carrying capacity.

Navarro said regulating the number of tourists while increasing their tourism expenditure receipts per capita will lead to “high-quality tourism services and discourage low-quality ones.” This means tourism services will have to increase to be able to hike per capita tourist spending.

Limiting the number of tourists that can access a destination has also been done in other areas, Navarro said. If tourists do not see a suitable booking schedule, they will move their visit and get to enjoy the island minus the congestion and crowding.

“Of course, we cannot remove the Bora experience for the masses. [We can] maximize the Bora experience for the masses, but there is a strategy there [such as] appropriate scheduling,” she said.

“You cannot attract all tourists and risk crowding or congesting Boracay. So it’s like having price discrimination in economics. There’s a high price for high-quality goods and services and then there’s a low price for low-quality goods and services,” Navarro added.

Apart from the tourists, the Neda official also recommended limiting the number of establishments on the island. The number of establishments such as hotels must be carefully guided by the carrying capacity of the island.

However, Navarro said, this decision will have to be made by the local government unit and the Department of Tourism. She said, nonetheless, that the study on the carrying capacity of the Boracay will guide them, especially in determining whether there are too many rooms available on the island.

Cost of rehab

DOCUMENTS obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that the Neda RDO’s preliminary estimates of the cost of rehabilitating Boracay is around P24.99 billion. This is composed of P6.96 billion from the public sector and P18.03 billion from the private sector.

The public investment side for Boracay was initially estimated at P2.33 billion this year; P1.73 billion in 2019; P1.87 billion in 2020; P558.79 million in 2021; and P458.11 million in 2022.

These public investments are divided according to six areas: enforcement of laws and regulations worth P635.47 million; pollution control and prevention, P534.96 million; and rehabilitation and recovery of ecosystems, P72.49 million.

The other areas where public funds could be spent are putting in place reliable infrastructure facilities costing P4.69 billion; responsive social services along health, education and housing, P879.43 million; and sustainable economic activities including tourism and livelihood, P138.58 million.

The investments will be funded by agencies regular budget at P4.627 billion; LGUs, P1.948 billion; and cofinancing by agencies/LGUs and private sector, P210.87 million. The government is still determining the source of funding for the remaining P173.068 million.

The project that will receive the top funding is the P7.045-billion Nabas-Caticlan-Boracay Transmission Project, Stage 1 of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in Nabas, Malay and Boracay.

The biggest projects also include the P2.414-billion sewerage development works to be undertaken by the Boracay Island Water Co. Inc. and the P2.14- billion project of the LGU and private investors to promote investment and development for housing projects initially for households in “no build and hazard zones.”