SIARGAO Island is world-renowned as one of the best surfing locales in the Pacific, and has become a popular venue for major competitions in the sport. This has made the island one of the country's most productive tourist destinations, attracting tens of thousands of domestic and international visitors annually, or at least it did before Covid-19 restrictions prevented most travel.

To add to the hardships experienced by Siargao due to the pandemic, last year's Typhoon 'Odette' scored a direct hit on the island, causing widespread damage that took months to clean up. The local economy is still recovering from it, although the visitors have begun to return.