The Making of Carabao Island Airport
Quite intriguing? Well, if you are an adventurer like me and a bit curious of what this place looks like, you would be tempted to search or go to Carabao Island yourself. It is believed to be the next tourist destination in the Philippines to look out for by travellers and adventurers as well. Located in San Jose of Romblon province and only 20 minutes away by boat from Boracay Island. This has remains to be one of the unexplored islands yet in the country. But government and investors alike are already eyeing and pinning this island spot to be a lucrative one.
Why did I say that Carabao Island would be the next tourist destination? Because Carabao Island and Boracay are alike in many ways. It also has the same powdery white sand but with a much longer shoreline. It has the very same natural beauty of Boracay back in the 1980s when structures are not yet sprouted like mushrooms along the shoreline.
Probably in the next estimated years to come, Carabao Island will be the next tourist haven in the Philippines. There are reports that the Philippine government agencies are negotiating with a Korean-led estate company for the development of an international airport project in San Jose town worth to be PhP5 billion. The airport will be an alternative route and an additional one to accommodate more visitors besides having the existing Caticlan airport in Malay, Aklan. Once the entire project is completed in 2012, the 3.7 kilometer long airport will make room for wide-bodied jetliners like the A-330.
The airport also would ease travel time and inconvenience for foreign tourists and locals who wish to visit Boracay. At present, there are lots of transfer you have to go through before you arrive to Boracay. One, to make a flight to NAIA, and then transfer to the Domestic airport, then fly again to Kalibo. Lastly, a 15 minute ride to a ferry boat transfer before you reach Boracay. An almost half a day was spent due to unnecessary travel time.
With the newly discovered Carabao Island and the ongoing airport project, it is predicted that by 2012, business opportunities will also come along. Romblon as well as other nearby provinces will have this kind of opportunity in terms of catering their local products and promoting the towns. With this plan in mind, our country may be able to compete with other major tourist destinations in Southeast Asia like Phuket in Thailand and Bali in Indonesia.
