Now, it was a shocking decision

that was made roughly six months ago.

They will close down one of the most

well-visited and profitable islands

in the entire Philippines.

It was a business decision that would cost

some nearly eight billion dollars.

- But why? - Now why would they do that?

(upbeat music)

The main reason it got shut down was basically this:

Boracay, for the longest time, has been a place of tourism.

It has quickly boomed into what it is today,

and a lot of the businesses were not complying

with the regulations, such as disposal of sewage.

One of the biggest issues was actually a little disgusting,

was that they were just basically dumping their sewage

directly onto the beaches that many of the tourists

were also swimming in.

- Eww. - Yeah, "eww" was right.

The president was actually quoted

calling the island a cesspool.

- Boracay is a cesspool.

- His words, not mine.

Now, I've been to Boracay, it's beautiful.

Was it filthy?

Yes, a little bit.

It wasn't the cleanest island.

And so, to their credit, they actually ended up

making a very tough decision

to close the island down completely,

100% switching off the valve.

No tourists are permitted

inside of Boracay for the six-month period,

to try to get it on the right track.

So Cathy and I, hello, we're going to Boracay today

to see if it was all worth it.

Let's see if the change has been real and significant.

Never in my life have I missed a flight

until right now.

(upbeat music)

Well, well, well, fast forward a week

and we are finally here in Boracay

to give you an update on what's new here.

I'm super excited.

We actually just flew in here with Cebu Pacific.

Typically, Cebu Pacific is my go-to way

to travel the Philippines.

It's usually the most affordable.

They even fly internationally,

which is really cool (mumbles).

But one piece of advice when using them,

is make sure your carry-on is not overweight

because they do like to weigh it.

First update is we've just landed in a brand-new airport.

This is the new Boracay arrivals airport.

The departures are still done in the old Caticlan airport.

There's only a couple of airlines that land in here,

with Cebu Pacific being one of them.

That's one of the advantages to landing here

because the other Boracay airport

will probably take you about an hour and a half

to get to the crossing area

where you'll have to take a boat.

So we still take a boat here,

but we're basically already there.

Big change number two.

There is now a requirement

that you have a booking at a hotel

before you arrive on the island.

So this is the form right here.

We're actually at the Coast,

the hotel we'll be staying at.

They have their own little private boarding area

with their own private boat,

but they are making me fill out the same form

that you'd be filling out

regardless of what hotel you stay at.

Now, what's the implications of that?

Really, it just means that if you're a backpacker

and you just plan to, like, stroll on to Boracay,

kinda wander around, find a guest house,

figure out what hostel you wanna stay at last minute,

like I would typically do, you can't do that.

They will not let you on the island

unless you have a confirmed booking

from a hotel, a guest house, something of that sort,

which is really interesting.

Once you've filled out your form

and you're ready to go, I just realized

they give you the mark of the beast.

This is verifying on it.

It's just basically saying that you've confirmed

that you actually are staying in a hotel.

So, if your hotel doesn't include

transportation to and from the island,

then what you'll be taking is the ferry.

It runs fairly frequently, but I have heard

that they've reduced the frequency

with the re-opening of Boracay, so.

- (mumbles) towel. - Thank you very much.

Coast guard requirement.

We have five minutes to get there.

We are back and quickly reminded

why this place is so famous.

It was always incredibly beautiful.

Blue water, the white sand is some of the best.

I know I say that a lot, but it truly is,

it's some of the best.

And the last transportation means one more car.

So, we are now on the main road,

and we're seeing a ton of construction that's going on.

Basically, they're building it so it's two lanes wide,

whereas before, it was one tiny, tiny lane,

where everyone has to, like, sneak by each other.

It was absolutely chaotic if you ever had

to go through Boracay.

There's a lot of construction going on here right now.

And we are back at my favorite hotel in Boracay.

Guys, this is the Coast.

So happy to be back here.

It's clean, it's bright, it's modern.

We're pretty much gonna go to bed now

and tomorrow, we'll show you around,

to show you the new Boracay.

Good morning, guys, and welcome to

Day number one here in Boracay.

I'm got my tourist shirt on,

and I'm ready to share some information

about the new Boracay, 'cause a lot has changed.

The new rules state that there can't be

anything on the beach.

So there can't be chairs.

There can't be any fences dividing properties.

There can't be lights on the trees.

And so, that means that basically,

if you're gonna hang out by the beach,

you just have that beautiful white sand

and that blue, blue water.

There used to be tons and tons

of lounge chairs all along this beach.

Now, there's nothing.

I think it's actually a really nice thing,

like I thought that the chairs were a total eyesore before.

And there used to be so many vendors here

trying to sell you day trips,

trying to sell you, like, snacks and massages,

and it was just really annoying.

You come to a beach like this to relax,

and it wasn't really the experience last time.

So, I think they've completely cleaned that up.

Speaking of cleaning up,

this is what you see everywhere.

It had become a barefoot destination.

You can walk anywhere barefoot now.

- It's very nice.

Actually, you can see police.

Policeman's everywhere.

And I guess it's to enforce that

people don't sell (mumbles) on the street.

- And they're truly cleaning up after everything.

Even the leaves that fall from the palms,

I see people just scooping it all up.

It's just like immaculate right now.

It's the perfect clean beach,

and I'm surprised to see that.

So my fellow sandcastle lovers out there,

I have some bad news for you,

because digging a sandcastle here in Boracay

can now lead to a $50 fine,

and not to mention there's actually been

some videos of police coming and knocking them down.

Hopefully, that doesn't happen here today.

So, the water here is just about the cleanest I've seen.

It's so crystal clear,

and there's not a single bit of litter.

One of the really awesome new rules

that they've implemented here

is that there's no smoking in Boracay at all.

I mean, there's no more of those

little cigarette butts getting everywhere.

There's also another rule, which is

no drinking anymore in public.

That'll result in a cleaner environment,

but, I don't know if it's all positive,

because it's definitely kind of nice

to be able to walk around with a beer.

That's definitely a social atmosphere thing that I enjoy,

but I guess it's for the environment here,

and that's definitely the direction

they've chosen with the new Boracay.

(upbeat music)

Well, there is one last thing I have to warn you

about the water if you're in Boracay,

that they have these really horrible leeches,

and once they grab on to you, they just,

it's really hard to get off. - Yeah?

- You either gotta use fire or salt.

You know, I could talk about

the facts of Boracay all day,

but I've been to the (mumbles).

I think the best way to show

is just to show it for what it is.

A place to relax, amazing food.

(squealing)

(upbeat music)

Since the changes, this is a truly world-class beach.

Now, there's one thing that didn't change about Boracay

and that is good food.

(upbeat music)

- I just got my shake and it remind me something

that I have to tell you about Boracay.

So they have (mumbles) here.

So they have single--

- Single-use plastics. - Huh?

- Single-use plastics. - Okay, single-use plastic.

- Using water bottles. - Okay.

No straws and no bags, and a lot of (mumbles)

are not using any more water bottles,

which I think is fair because they

contaminate the environment.

You get service water like this.

- Now, there's one thing the Philippines

does better than any other country,

and that is without a doubt their sunsets.

Every single night, night after night,

you can expect to see beautiful infernos,

incredible clouds, and tonight is no exception.

We just finished up dinner at the Coast Restaurant

and no more than 10 feet away,

we are right on the beach,

enjoying a world-class sunset.

Tonight is a piece de resistance.

(mellow music)

It's right here, it's probably the biggest change

that you will see here in Boracay.

We went out last night.

We walked down the main promenade behind the palm trees.

Basically, everything becomes pretty sleepy.

Not only with Boracay one of the party capitals

of the country, but they actually had

a really big event called LaBoracay,

which was typically leading up to, like,

New Years and Christmas time.

Now that event has been completely closed this year.

And I have a feeling they're probably not planning

to continue it ever again.

It seems like the nightlife side of Boracay

is something they're trying

to totally dissociate themselves with.

And I'm not sure it's ever coming back.

Hey, you over there, stop partying.

What is Boracay gonna look like moving forward?

Well, the future is definitely very uncertain.

One thing that has been announced is

they're actually planning to implement

e-vehicles, including cars and tricycles,

to get people around the new main road they're building.