The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) launched the first Philippine Dive Experience programme on Thursday, 28th November.
25 diplomats from over a dozen countries were invited to the town of Anilao in the Southern Luzon province of Batangas to experience the area’s exceptional underwater landscape.
The Philippine Dive Experience draws inspiration from the DOT’s flagship program the Philippine Experience, except this time it is to market and elevate Philippine diving as a unique and purposeful experience by incorporating heritage and conservation activities.
Going for a sustainable and meaningful diving experience
Tourism secretary Christina Frasco remarked: “In that we are pushing for the sustainability of diving by ensuring that it has a conservation component: a coastal cleanup, and also an education component.”
Through the new programme, the DOT aims for diversification, to place the Philippines as one of the best known diving destinations in the world that offers an enriching, meaningful, and purposeful experience.
Frasco said the idea behind the initiative is to allow foreign visitors to rediscover the Philippines not just from the lens of fun and adventure, but also for all the other reasons to love.
Boosting infrastructure
The DOT has been stepping up its promotion of dive tourism and has made efforts to improve facilities for visiting divers, including through the installation of hyperbaric chambers in key dive sites.
To date, its infrastructure arm the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) has placed five hyperbaric chambers in Mabini, Batangas; Mandaue, Cebu; Panglao, Bohol; and Puerto Princesa and Coron in Palawan.
An additional five hyperbaric chambers are also up for installment in Catarman, Camiguin; Dauin, Negros Oriental; Daanbantayan, Cebu; and Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro.