Boracay Island Philippines: A Simple Business and Profit Brought by Tourism

Last January, I went to Kalibo Aklan (Philippines) to audit one of our clients – a credit cooperative. Aklan is popular for Boracay Island where you can find purely white beaches. If you are going to Boracay from outside the Philippines, you can fly to Manila (the country’s capital city), and then ride another plane to Caticlan for an hour. Another way is to fly directly to Kalibo International Airpot where you can ride a van or a bus for an hour to Caticlan. When you arrive in Caticlan you will need to ride a boat for about 15 minutes to reach the Island of Boracay.

It was my first time to visit the Island and it was really a great experience to see the white sand that attracts many tourists around the world. When I first arrive at Dmall (a mall near the beach) it was filled with different races of people – Chinese, Germans, Japanese, Americans, British, Koreans, Italians, and of course Filipinos. The place, although a small island, is already urbanized and commercialized. Five stars hotels like Boracay Regency hotel and Discovery Shores entice the visitors to stay there. At night, you can hang-up on different bars line up beside the sea, offering fine wines and tasty foods.

As I walk on the long white shore, I can see the ATM banks built and touched by the white sands. The island is not just a long beach for swimming but also a haven for shopping, where you can’t be worried of cash shortage since banking transactions are available along the white sand beaches. I only stayed for one night on that paradise island since I have a flight for my next audit client located in Brooke’s Point, Palawan. During the night, I spent my time walking across the long white beach mingling with the different races of people I mentioned earlier.

At my stay on the island, I realized that tourism is one great business that people of different levels can benefit. Big resort developers, hotel operators, air travel companies, travel agencies, shipping lines, banks, restaurants, malls and the government are all been blessed to profit from the great tourist spot. But the kind of business that has marked my mind is not one of them. Aside from the giant companies that earn from the island’s beauty, several little businesses are also sharing the profit brought by it. Tourist guides, laundry shops, souvenir makers, swimming instructors, boat owners and massagers are among them. But still not one of those made my self witnessed a strange business. It was in the morning when I am about to leave the island to chase my flight at noon in Kalibo International Airport. As I need to enjoy my remaining hours in Boracay, I grabbed the opportunity to take pictures as a souvenir and to have evidence to show to my friends that I went there. Then I saw a great white sand castle made by an old person. The tiny castle is perfect for the picture of my background. I approached the man who made the castle and he told me that I can have a picture with it – with a donation as a consideration of his effort in building the structure.

I was satisfied with the picture I got, so I hand him some penny as a donation or as a payment. I was thinking that if an average of twenty people will use his creation for taking nice pictures everyday, and each of them will give him one dollar, the old man will earn an average of 20 bucks a day. That is equivalent to 1,000 Pesos in the Philippines – an amount that will give his family a daily good living.

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