Fearing mass cancellations by tour groups, Mina Gabor, the head of the government's tourism department, immediately went to Boracay and took a swim.

ECONOMIST: The island that became too popular

For the other 11 months of the year, Kalibo is primarily known as an entry point to the famed holiday island of Boracay.

BBC: Ati-Atihan festivites on Philippine shores

Since the 1970s, more than 300 resorts and hotels have been built on Boracay, and the outdoor pedestrian D'Mall expands every year, birthing more shops, bars and restaurants.

BBC: Ati-Atihan festivites on Philippine shores

In places like the Philippine island of Boracay, the transformation is well under way, so I head first to Bacuit Bay, to check out a diminishing rarity: a self-proclaimed tropical paradise that contains no go-kart tracks or daiquiri stands or much of anything but wild animals, water and sand.

WSJ: The Philippines's Strange Paradise