EDITOR'S NOTE: 2026: A Year of Change

Will 2026 prove to be a promising year for the Boracay tourism sector?

In my humble opinion, shaped by 23 years of calling Boracay home, the answer depends on whether we can finally address a set of long-standing, make-or-break issues, challenges that are not new, but have grown more urgent with time. Encouragingly, both the government and the private sector are beginning to confront these concerns more openly and collaboratively.

Doing so will require political will from national and local leaders, as well as decisive, collective action from the tourism sector, business stakeholders, and the local community. For residents like me, the hope is simple: that Boracay continues to thrive as a world-class destination while remaining a livable, dignified home for those who care for it year-round.

We learned valuable lessons during the six-month island closure and again during the pandemic: protect the environment, protect the beaches, and protect the visitor experience, or everything else collapses. No beach, no tourists. No tourists, no livelihood.

With that in mind, here is my 2026 wish list for Boracay Island, aspirations rooted in sustainability, balance and common sense.

1. Better Healthcare Facilities and Emergency Response

My first wish is that medical emergencies will no longer require a frantic transfer to Kalibo (and NO, a BRIDGE and all that comes with it is unnecessary if the system works efficiently), or that the process becomes organized, reliable, smooth and seamless.

Boracay is both a tourism hub and a permanent community, hosting millions of visitors who engage in land and water activities daily. This reality demands a healthcare system that can respond quickly and competently to emergencies.

The Municipal Health Office (MHO) has outlined a medical emergency referral protocol for Boracay (page 9) and has shared that plans are underway to improve facilities and services. These are encouraging signals. What residents and visitors need is confidence that in moments of crisis, help is nearby, coordinated and reliable.

Dr. Karl Lachica, medical director of Ciriaco S. Tirol Hospital, told Boracay Sun News that plans are in motion to upgrade the island’s healthcare capabilities and emergency response systems. If these plans materialize as intended, Boracay will not only be living up to its world-class reputation but will also be a safer and more resilient place to live and visit. Read about healthcare system upgrades in the next edition of BSN.

2. Stronger Beach Environmental Management

Boracay’s beaches are its soul and its strongest economic engine. My wish is that they are truly cared for, not just regulated, but actively managed and professionally maintained.

Environmental fees should have accountability and transparency (accessible to the public) and should visibly translate into cleaner shores and well-maintained beaches (without perilous potholes in the sand and exposed or floating pipes after a typhoon), better-maintained facilities, and professional beach stewardship. 

It is also high time to revisit some beach regulations introduced during the 2018 closure and update them to rules that protect the environment while allowing responsible enjoyment (like the simple pleasure of beach beds and dining or having a cocktail by the beach).

Equally important are the island’s visual and physical “optics.” Discarded pontoon blocks, unfinished demolitions, dangling wires, flooding after a little rain, and broken pavements undermine Boracay’s image as a premier destination. Rebranding, as a long-time observer aptly put it, should mean running the island like a well-managed hotel: clean, functional, and welcoming “because happy guests return.”

3. A Better, Fairer Tourist Experience

Another wish for 2026 is a smoother, more honest visitor experience.

This means fixing broken systems, removing excessive and redundant fees, and enforcing rules against aggressive vendors and “marketers” who overcharge guests and distort pricing. These practices frustrate visitors, undermine trust, and place unnecessary pressure on legitimate businesses and workers.

A truly quality-driven tourism model is about ensuring that the experience on the ground feels fair, welcoming, and worth returning to. For Boracay, this means addressing everyday friction points that visitors and residents alike quietly endure, like added costs from transport to activities (₱100 snorkeling fee) and uneven pricing (higher rates for foreigners), most of which surface during peak seasons. Simple, practical improvements and fast-tracking upgrades to the Caticlan jetty port and airport can go a long way in strengthening Boracay’s image as a “fun, relaxing, and welcoming destination.”

Equally critical is restoring international connectivity through the Boracay Airport in Caticlan. Before the pandemic, direct flights from key markets helped diversify arrivals and stabilize demand. Bringing these back alongside focused destination marketing that prioritizes quality over volume would significantly strengthen Boracay’s position.

Boracay delivers warmth, efficiency, and genuine Filipino hospitality. Preserving that reputation means investing not just in infrastructure, but in systems that make the visitor journey smoother from arrival to departure and with a seamless experience, removing the feeling that one is constantly having to pay fees left and right and then being harassed by vendors.

Preserving that reputation means investing not just in infrastructure, but in systems that make the visitor journey smoother from arrival to departure, delivering a seamless experience that avoids the impression of constant fees and minimizes unwanted solicitation, allowing guests to simply relax and enjoy the island.

4. Stable and Reliable Power

Reliable electricity is not a luxury; it is foundational to safety, hospitality, and business continuity.

Residents have been advised to expect scheduled power interruptions in early 2026 due to ongoing transmission rehabilitation. The hope is that this process runs smoothly, stays on schedule, and results in lasting improvements.

The 69-kV transmission line from Nabas to Caticlan (now under NGCP’s responsibility) has historically been a major source of interruptions due to its age and terrain. Once NGCP completes its transmission upgrades, many of these issues are expected to ease. On AKELCO’s side, common causes of outages include vegetation, animal intrusion, transformers, and power poles, prompting expanded clearing and infrastructure upgrades.

AKELCO General Manager Virgilio Sacdalan has acknowledged past communication gaps and outlined steps to improve transparency, including a dedicated 24/7 Boracay hotline and clearer advisories. Efforts are also underway to address vegetation-related outages and replace vulnerable lines with insulated cables, particularly in heavily vegetated areas.

We asked Boracay Foundation Inc. Chairman Dindo Salazar and PCCI-Boracay President Djila Winebrenner to weigh in on Boracay’s power challenges, and both pointed to transparency and accountability as key to moving forward. Salazar said he believes “there is a solution to Boracay’s power challenges,” emphasizing the importance of clarifying responsibility for transmission upgrades and providing advance notice of scheduled interruptions so businesses can prepare. Winebrenner echoed this call, noting that repeated outages place “an overwhelming strain” on workers and MSMEs, and stressed that power providers must deliver reliability and clearer timelines consistent with Boracay’s role as a national tourism hub.

5. Cheaper Flights and Better Connectivity

Finally, I wish for more affordable domestic flights and stronger inter-island connectivity.

For an archipelago celebrated for its island destinations, it is paradoxical that flying within the Philippines often costs more than traveling abroad, nudging travelers toward international trips instead of exploring our own islands. Flights to nearby hubs such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, or Ho Chi Minh City are frequently cheaper than routes to some of the country’s most iconic destinations.

Recent national-level discussions acknowledging the high cost of domestic air travel are a welcome development. Industry data showing that flights to nearby Asian cities can be cheaper than domestic routes has renewed calls to review airport fees, terminal charges, and other operational costs that inflate local fares.

At the sidelines of the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2026 in Cebu City, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco identified airfare prices as a primary concern, stating, “The chief concern is the high price of airfare.” She said the Department of Tourism (DOT) is working with the Department of Transportation (DOTR) and private airlines to address pricing issues.

She also announced that three major airlines committed to removing their two highest fare buckets, a move aimed at lowering average ticket prices. According to Skyscanner, airlines may further reduce costs by recalibrating ancillary fees such as baggage and food, and refining demand-based pricing models.

While airlines face uncontrollable costs such as inflation and fuel, which account for roughly 25-35% of total expenses, the government does not impose a price ceiling on jet fuel, as the oil industry remains largely deregulated. Instead, regulation focuses on how fuel costs are passed on to consumers through the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). The Department of Energy (DOE), meanwhile, monitors global oil prices but is generally limited to ensuring fair competition rather than setting price caps.

Rather than focusing solely on lowering ticket prices, government support could be more effective if directed toward areas under its direct control such as airport landing fees and ground services, to reduce airlines’ overall cost of doing business and enable more sustainable fare reductions.

Secretary Frasco also noted that not all domestic routes are expensive. Major gateways such as Boracay, Iloilo, Cebu and Davao benefit from higher traffic volumes and stronger airline competition, helping keep fares relatively more affordable.

Looking Ahead: Quality Over Quantity

Boracay has lived through the consequences of unchecked growth, and those lessons remain relevant as the island looks ahead. As national agencies support the liberalization of visa policies, including efforts to attract larger outbound markets such as China, it is worth recalling that past tourism surges were not without cost.

In the years leading up to the 2018 rehabilitation closure, the rapid increase in arrivals, fueled in part by multiple direct international flights, outpaced the island’s carrying capacity. Infrastructure, waste management systems, and environmental safeguards struggled to keep up, contributing to the very conditions that necessitated a six-month shutdown.

Today’s challenge is to avoid repeating that cycle. Welcoming visitors and supporting recovery must go hand in hand with firm limits, disciplined enforcement, and realistic assessments of what the island can sustain. This includes being thoughtful about cruise tourism, which can deliver large volumes of visitors in short bursts while placing pressure on ports, roads, beaches, and public services, often with limited local economic return.

Sustainable success for Boracay does not hinge on chasing the highest arrival numbers, but on attracting visitors who respect the destination and contribute meaningfully to its sustainability.  

If 2026 becomes a year of thoughtful reform, honest collaboration, and balanced growth, Boracay’s future can be not just profitable, but resilient and truly sustainable.