EDITORIAL — Uncontrolled development

Owners of business establishments in Boracay have welcomed a moratorium on new construction on the world-renowned island resort. Now foreign investors are said to be setting their sights on an island in Romblon for tourism development similar to Boracay. Elsewhere in the Philippines, new tourist destinations are also being developed.

The story of Boracay should provide valuable lessons in uncontrolled development. The island resort grew into a top tourist draw with no planning and little regulation, and it shows. With Boracay’s forest cover depleted and resorts, restaurants and nightspots jumbled together cheek by jowl on the island, authorities are scrambling to stop overdevelopment, which is straining the island’s resources and posing a threat to the environment.

It’s not just Boracay that can use some regulation. Even the highlands overlooking Taal volcano are becoming overdeveloped, depleting the vegetable and flower farms that have long been part of the area’s charm. Authorities must bear these lessons in mind as new tourist destinations are developed. Among the emerging tourist spots are the areas around the Albay Gulf where visitors can watch whale sharks and dolphins, and surfing areas in the coastal regions of La Union and Ilocos.

The irony is that amid overdevelopment, top tourist destinations lack facilities and skilled workers to provide quality services to visitors. Both the national and local governments are unable to provide the most basic of visitors’ needs: public toilet facilities that are spacious, clean and with piped water and toilet paper. Many of the nation’s tour guides can also use better training.

Older tourist destinations, meanwhile, are being neglected. The rice terraces of Banaue continue to deteriorate. For several decades there has been little improvement in access to the site either by land or by air. The country’s tourism infrastructure is inadequate not just in the Cordilleras but also in many other areas, except in destinations such as Boracay where the private sector has taken the lead in development. The danger in this case, as we have seen, is overdevelopment.