13/09/2026
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A single pompano costing ₱1,650 in Panglao has reignited a bigger question about Bohol tourism: Has one of the Philippines’ most popular destinations simply become too expensive?
A Boholana took to Threads after being stunned by the price of a single pompano during a recent meal in Panglao.
“Eating pompano here in Panglao 1pc for 1650,” she wrote, joking that she was taking the fish bones home with her.
But her complaint quickly went beyond one expensive fish.
“That’s why Bohol is losing tourists,” she wrote, pointing to expensive airfare, hotels, tours and food. “Everything ridiculously expensive. Local govt should be doing something about it.”
The post struck a nerve, drawing thousands of views and comments from people sharing their own experiences with Bohol’s prices.
One commenter called the ₱1,650 fish “robbery,” while another declared: “Mas mahal pa sa BGC!”
The original poster also complained about the ₱500 transfer fare from Panglao airport to Alona and compared the cost of dining in Bohol with Vietnam, where she said she recently had lobster and tiger prawns for roughly the same amount.
Another commenter claimed two pieces of chicken thigh cost ₱1,000 at one establishment.
THE TOURISTS REALLY ARE DECLINING
The online complaints come at a particularly sensitive time for Bohol.
Data from the Department of Economy, Planning and Development in Central Visayas showed tourist arrivals in Bohol plunged 59.3 percent in the first quarter of 2026, falling from 417,142 visitors during the same period in 2025 to just 170,016.
Domestic arrivals suffered an even steeper 73-percent decline, while foreign arrivals dropped by about 40 percent.
The figures do not establish that high prices alone caused the decline. Tourism officials have cited multiple factors affecting visitor numbers, including transportation costs, global economic pressures and weakness in important foreign markets.
But Bohol’s reputation for being expensive has increasingly become part of the conversation.
‘BOHOLANA TA PERO MAHADLOK TAS BOHOL’
Perhaps more striking is that some of the criticism is coming from Boholanos themselves.
One commenter complained that pork in Bohol could cost around ₱400 per kilo, compared with ₱280 to ₱350 in neighboring Cebu, while vegetables were also reportedly expensive.
The original poster agreed, joking: “Boholana ta pero mahadlok tas Bohol.”
She later clarified that the ₱1,650 pompano was served inside a hotel or resort and that there was no special view that might help explain the premium.
“Bohol is expensive and I am born and raised here,” she wrote. “So sad.”
PARADISE HAS COMPETITION
And that could be Bohol’s bigger problem.
The province is no longer competing only with Boracay, Palawan and Cebu. Vietnam, Thailand and other Southeast Asian destinations have become increasingly accessible to Filipino travelers.
When tourists begin calculating that a foreign vacation could offer better value than a domestic holiday, beautiful beaches and world-famous attractions may no longer be enough.
The ₱1,650 pompano represents only one meal at one establishment and should not be taken as proof that businesses across Bohol are overpricing.
But the reaction to the post reveals a potentially damaging perception: Bohol is becoming too expensive.
For a province that just saw tourist arrivals plunge 59.3 percent, that perception is something its tourism industry can hardly afford to ignore.
(✍️: Top Dagohoy)
