Boracay the 1970s. In 1970, the movies "Nam's Angels" (released in the U.S. as "The Losers") and "Too Late the Hero" used filming locations on Boracay and Caticlan. There was an influx of Western tourists after German writer Jens Peter called it "paradise on Earth" in his book about the Philippines in 1978. In the 1980s, the island became popular as a budget destination for backpackers. By the 1990s, Boracay's beaches were being acclaimed as the best in the world. However in 1997, the tourist arrival to the resort island dropped 60 percent due to the increase of coliform bacteria from
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,"