300 rendered jobless in Boracay due to virus scare

ILOILO CITY, Iloilo, Philippines — More than 300 workers on Boracay Island have lost their jobs after establishments catering mainly to Chinese tourists stopped operating due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak coming out of mainland China.

The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) in Aklan province reported that as of Feb. 21, a total of 20 establishments, including 18 in Boracay and two in the capital town of Kalibo, stopped operations due to the travel restrictions affecting tourists coming from China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Carmela Abellar, Dole Aklan director, said 302 people in Boracay and 76 in Kalibo would be out of work for two to three months. The workers were employed mostly in restaurants, travel agencies and hotels.

Flexi work

Another 20 establishments in Boracay have adopted flexible work schedules, affecting more than 1,000 workers.

Under the scheme, workers report for four to five days a week instead of six days or they may work for 15 days a month.

Abellar said they expected more workers to be affected based on reports coming from establishments, including hotels in Kalibo and those providing transport services to tourists from Kalibo International Airport to Barangay Caticlan in Malay town, the jump off point to Boracay.

Tourist arrivals have plummeted due to the suspension of direct flights from China, Hong Kong and Macau following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Tourists from China are the top foreign visitors in Boracay. Of the 1,032,619 vi¬sitors last year, nearly half, or 434,175 were from China.

Local spots

The drop in tourist arrivals have also hit hard vendors, tricycle drivers and other informal workers who are relying on tourists for their livelihood.

Some residents and workers on Boracay Island earlier appealed to the go-vernment for economic assistance but Abellar said the Dole had no funds for this purpose as of now.

Tourism officials have urged domestic tourists to vi¬sit local destinations, including Boracay, to make up for the void left by Chinese and other foreign tourists. Hotels and airline operators have also offered lower rates to entice local tourists to visit tourist spots around the country.