Boracay is positioning itself for another wave of investment as rising tourist arrivals fuel demand for hotels, retail, entertainment, and other businesses, with a P3-billion development led by businessman Kevin Wong emerging as one of the island’s latest major projects.
The Kaban Boracay hotel and casino, along with the soon-to-open Boracay Central retail complex, forms the centerpiece of a 23-hectare development that is expected to create about 1,200 jobs. More than half of those jobs are expected to go to workers from Aklan, particularly Malay.
Malay Mayor Floribar Bautista said the island needs more investments like Kaban to sustain its economic growth, as Boracay continues to attract millions of visitors each year.
Boracay welcomed 2.16 million foreign and domestic tourists in 2025, up from 2.08 million a year earlier. The increase is modest on paper, but for an island with finite land and infrastructure, every additional visitor puts another room, restaurant, retail outlet, and transport service to work.
“As the island continues to grow, it is important to welcome developments that expand what Boracay has to offer,” Bautista said Sunday at the grand opening of Kaban Boracay hotel and casino. “Kaban is a welcome addition, bringing together hotel accommodations, dining, entertainment, and leisure facilities that offer both local and international visitors more ways to enjoy the island.”
Wong’s group has invested about P3 billion in Kaban and Boracay Central and is expected to bring in more investors to develop the rest of the sprawling estate over the next few years.
The investment push comes as the government works to widen Boracay’s visitor base by improving access through Caticlan airport. San Miguel Corp. is expanding the gateway to accommodate more travelers, including potentially more direct international flights.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said the arrival of more leisure facilities strengthens the case for greater airport capacity and direct flights from key markets such as China, Japan, and South Korea.
“If they do arrive, we see the strong potential for growth of this casino,” Tengco said.
But where there is a casino, there are inevitably questions beyond the balance sheet.
Kalibo Bishop Cyril Villareal has raised concerns about potential moral consequences, prompting Tengco to emphasize the safeguards governing access to Kaban’s casino.
“No Malay locals are allowed in the casino. We should make that clear to everyone,” he said, adding that know-your-customer procedures would determine who may enter and play.
The casino will enforce a minimum age of 21, while government workers and people on PAGCOR’s self-exclusion list will be barred, Tengco said.
The exclusion list has grown sharply to about 40,000 people from just 2,000 previously.
For Boracay, Kaban brings capital, jobs, retail space, and another reason for visitors to this spend. The bigger challenge is making sure the island can keep attracting investment without eventually becoming a victim of its own popularity.
“We are happy to welcome Kaban as a new member of the Boracay community, and we look forward to working together to create more opportunities for our people while sustaining the growth of our tourism industry,” Bautista said.
