Boracay Convention Center plenaries in the function rooms. The Boracay Convention Center is part of the 79.21-hectare eco-village land in Boracay Island, which the Ayala group owned until June 2003. In 2005 alone, Boracay Property Holdings Inc., has so far invested $6 million or about P336 million to put up the world-class hotel and facilities in the area. Philippine Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Cesar A. V. Purisima had endorsed the conversion of the eco-village project, into a Tourism Economic Zone (TEZ) to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who issued the presidential proclamation. The Trade department noted the rise in tourist bookings in
Boracay in October 2018 with a set of new rules meant to address a variety of issues . The name "Boracay" is attributed to different origins. One story says that it is derived from the local word "borac" which means white cotton with characteristics close to the color and texture of Boracay's white sugary and powdery sand. Ati tradition states that the name of the island came from the Inati words "bora," meaning bubbles, and "bocay," meaning white. Yet another version dating back to the Spanish era says the name is derived from "sagay," the word for a shell, and "boray,"