BORACAY REBORN

Standing early one morning on a spotless, near-empty stretch of White Beach, the fabled four-kilometer-strand running down the western coast of Boracay, I can scarcely believe that this tiny Philippine island welcomed two million tourists in 2017. Or that the shoreline here was tainted with algal blooms just six months ago.

Three days after Boracay’s much-anticipated reopening in October, I have come to see how the Philippine government’s push for sustainable tourism has changed the face of the island. New rules mandating the installation of sewage treatment plants in all beachfront hotels, and in all properties with at least 50 rooms, have paid off. “The government did a good job with the overall cleanliness, and the water quality has improved a lot,” says Peter Tay, the Singaporean general manager of Boracay Adventures Travel & Tours. “Before this, they did not have the proper infrastructure, in terms of waste management, to support the increase in tourist numbers.”

But it has been a painful process to arrive at this point. Tay is on the board of directors