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The famous Boracay island has opened once more for tourists visiting the Philippines, with visitors allowed from 26 October. It was forced to close in April after a number of concerns for

the safety of the area, following high amounts of sewage and waste. After six months of clean up, estimated to cost approximately one billion pesos (£15 million), it is now allowing visitors

for a “soft launch”. This comes with a number of rules and restrictions to prevent it from falling into disrepair once more. Many popular beach activities are no longer allowed, such as

smoking or drinking alcohol as well as dining on the beach. Sandcastle building is also to be regulated. Water excursions such as boats and skiing are suspended for now, as are any diving

activities. There will be no souvenir shops, casinos or fire dancing using kerosene on the beaches. Only 19,000 tourists are allowed to stay on the island at any given time. This also means

fewer hotel rooms on the island, decreasing from 12,000 to between 6,000 and 9,000. The changes and rehabilitation of the island is expected to take up to two years, with many buildings

being destroyed and new sewage treatment facilities being built. At the time, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said: “As long as there is s*** coming out of those pipes draining to the

sea, I will never give you the time of the day (to return)”. The island will not be fully open until December 2019 as repairs continue to take place. Locals will welcome the opening of the

beach as a large proportion of income is created by tourism. As many as 6.6 million tourists visited in 2017 despite Boracay being less than four square miles, with many entering the island

by cruise ship. A number of beaches in Thailand were forced to shut due to the problems caused by over-tourism. Maya Bay, the famous location of the Leonardo DiCaprio film The Beach,

initially closed from June to September to allow the reefs to repair. However, the area is to remain closed indefinitely according to officials. Many countries are also capping the daily

amount of visitors to popular tourist attractions like Boracay. Machu Picchu in Peru, the Taj Mahal in India and locations in Venice are prohibiting the number of people entering. Angry

locals and damage to the area are some of the main reasons for the new restrictions.