· TIME CONTEXT As a coastal resort destination, Mactan Island stands in sharp contrast to the coast to the coast destination in other Southeast Asian countries. Mactan’s costal tourism has essentially developed on a low rock coast two lagoons facing a deep sea fringed by viable coral reefs. The Mactan shoreline is characterized by short sandy beaches between pronounced coral rock outcrops serving as “headlines” along the southeast coast facing Olango Island. Since the 1970s, this coast has experienced significant change due to poorly planned resort development. Three types of modification to Mactan’s southeast coast can be identified. The early stage involved the least amount of change to the rock coast. The existing limited sandy beaches were used and sea walls were built where necessary. The middle stage of modification witnessed a variety of coastal structures built to retain the beaches, together with the use of imported sand for beach nourishment. Groins and breakwaters were deployed in various ways to create different resort layouts. The final stage of modification was the excavation of the rock coast and the creation of new and artificial beaches. Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort was the first to carry out the bold move of excavating the rock and building an entire artificial beach. The process of creating a new beach started with the initial removal of the rock along a 350m stretch by jackhammers to form a large bay. Two large outcrops were left behind to remain as island and to help retain sand. Two large groins were constructed at the ends of the new bay. Natural sand, in the form of shoals, was placed at appropriate depths for waves to move into the bay. Eventually, three separate foreshore beaches with a continuous backshore beach were formed. The construction of the Plantation Bay Resort involved the initial excavation of rock at the head of the