Undiscovered Bohol in Philippines eyes sustainable tourism development as new airport set to bring surge in visitors

Famous for its karst Chocolate Hills and tarsier primate, Bohol, the Philippines’ 10th largest island, has not been on the radar of most foreign visitors

Plans are in place to ensure the development of tourist resorts and infrastructure is environmentally friendly and avoids the errors of Boracay and Mactan, Cebu

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The stunning Chocolate Hills on the island of Bohol in the Philippines. Plans are in place to develop the island for tourism sensitively, and to avoid mistakes made in other Southeast Asian destinations. Photo: Alamy

Published: 6:00pm, 25 Nov 2019Updated: 6:38pm, 25 Nov 2019

In the wake of mass-tourism disasters that sparked the temporary closure of holiday hotspots, one Southeast Asian destination is taking sustainability seriously in a bid to protect its future: the Philippine island of Bohol.

The Philippines’ 10th largest island, Bohol remains unknown to most foreign visitors to the Philippines, who tend to skip straight to Manila, Boracay, Palawan and nearby Cebu.

However, this is slated to change. The opening in November 2018 of Bohol-Panglao International Airport – it welcomed its first international charter flight, from Hong Kong, in October 2019 – is predicted to bring a rise in visitors, and the government has designated part of Bohol a tourism enterprise zone, one of 15 across the country intended to be developed sensitively.

While the island prepares for a tourism boom, its residents are keen to ensure it does not become a victim of its own success.

An aerial view of Balicasag Island in Bohol. Photo: Alamy

“We do not want to be another Boracay,” says my tour guide, Cecile Visarra, during a recent five-day visit. I was keen to discover some of the eco-tourism initiatives Bohol wants to be known for.