alike.com.ph—San Juan, La Union—recently hailed as the Surfing Capital of the North—seems to be the next Boracay of the Philippines. The LaBoracay annual summer festival, which takes place during the long Labor Day weekend, draws thousands of tourists to the island every year. Unfortunately, with the island’s recent shut down, the organizers had to cancel the event, as with other events which were supposed to be held during the same weekend.
The cancellation of events and the closing down of the island meant that partygoers needed to find a new place to let loose. And while there are many summer destinations to choose from, La Union proved to be a favorite. In fact, the long Labor Day weekend in La Union had already been given a name, Labor Union—a nod to the suspended “Laboracay.”
Its proximity to Manila, being less than a 5-hour drive away, makes San Juan, La Union an ideal weekend destination. According to Glynis Balagot, Director of Sales and Marketing at Kahuna Resorts and executive director of the La Union Conventions and Visitors Bureau (LUCVB), “When we started conceptualizing how we will sell San Juan together with tourism movers in the society, we realized that we need to sell it more than the surfing, we wanted people to come back with or without the surfboard.” The hints of change in La Union are quite apparent, as more restaurants, shops, and hotels are being built to accommodate the growing number of tourists.
According to Faustro Liriano, chief executive officer of RCL Realty, La Union needs more hotel rooms due to the influx of people. He continues to explain that the town had only 100 hotel rooms five years ago. Today, there are more than 600 rooms with the majority of them located in San Juan, San Fernando, and Agoo, La Union. Consequently, the demand for more hotel rooms is helping make La Union a good prospect for property development.
As it stands, Boracay’s loss is leaning towards La Union’s gain. Boracay stands to lose P56 billion worth of tourist spendings due to its closure with most of its 40,000 population depending on tourism to make a living. If they do it right, La Union may be able to bring in similar numbers in the coming weeks and months, increasing the region’s economic growth tenfold.
Photo by author
However, many fear that La Union may not handle the surge of tourists and leave the healthy surf town worse than before. In fact, the influx of tourists at San Juan’s Urbiztondo Beach has already disturbed the natural birthing cycle of sea turtles in the area. Sea turtles are extremely important to the ecosystem of the beach since they control the infestation of jellyfish. Without the presence of sea turtles, an influx of jellyfish and other unwelcome factors could make La Union’s waters a hazard.
At one point, Boracay’s limited beach strip was filled with broken bottles, cigarettes butts, plastic materials and all types of garbage after an infamous Labor Day Weekend. It was weekends like these that contributed to the closing of the island, unable to handle the growing number of tourists and the waste they produce. In attempts to be the next beach party hotspot, La Union may face the same problems, and consequences, as its predecessor did.
La Union continues to develop to accommodate the influx of tourists, but the recent news of Boracay’s shutdown does promote caution. These are exciting times for La Union, but if it wants to avoid the fate of Boracay, it’s up to the once sleepy surf town to strike a balance between economic growth and environmental preservation.
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