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The submit 1st Philippine Tourism Dive Dialogue unites dive industry: 37B raked in 2022 appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily Media.
In a bid to additional develop growth of the nation’s dive tourism trade, the Department of Tourism (DOT) efficiently mounted a nationwide convergence of a whole lot of contributors from the private and non-private sectors and the academe to deal with challenges and achieve insights from trade consultants and stakeholders for the inaugural Philippine Tourism Dive Dialogue (PTDD).
The occasion, held on the Fili Hotel at Nustar Cebu, featured necessary panel discussions that centered on Marine Environmental Protection and Conservation; Dive Niche Products: Free Diving, Scuba Diving, Black Water Diving, and Underwater Photography; Philippine Dive: Domestic/International Marketing Campaign; Safety, Standards, and Accreditation of Tourism-related Enterprises (TREs) for Scuba Diving; and Investment Opportunities in the Dive Industry.
The dialogue comes on the heels of The Philippines’ fifth straight win as Asia’s Leading Dive Destination on the prestigious World Travel Awards (WTA) 2023.
In an handle, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco emphasised the significance of the two-day convergence of related nationwide and native authorities companies in addition to the Department’s companions from the non-public sector in sustaining the successes of the nation’s dive tourism trade and in achievement of the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. for the Philippines to realize a tourism trade that’s “inclusive, where the benefits of tourism are felt far and wide across the countryside.”
“The effort, therefore, requires the ability to listen, to understand the prevailing challenges that are present and require solutions that can only be reached with collaboration, convergence, and unity. That is why early on, in the Marcos administration, we, in the Department of Tourism, mandated the formation of the very first DOT Dive Committee,” Secretary Frasco stated.
The DOT chief, a licensed diver, sits because the chair of the Department’s Dive Committee which brings collectively the DOT and its connected companies, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), and the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD) to help the wants of the dive trade and develop its present portfolio.
A income driver trade
The contribution of the dive trade to Philippine tourism was evident in 2022, with the nation gaining an estimated PHP 37 billion in vacationer receipts from worldwide dive guests, which constituted over 17.5 p.c of the nation’s complete tourism receipts final 12 months.
According to the tourism chief, the internet hosting of the first-ever Dive Dialogue in Cebu can be becoming given Central Visayas’ standing because the nation’s premier dive vacationer vacation spot, as it’s house to a mess of world-class dive spots and is the most-visited vacation spot amongst in a single day regional vacationers.
But whereas Central Visayas noticed the inaugural Philippine Tourism Dive Dialogue, Secretary Frasco stated that the occasion additionally places the highlight on many different key and rising dive websites throughout the nation.
According to the Secretary, one other aim of the DOT-led Dive Dialogue is to seize new vacationer markets, particularly for diving.
“The focus of the Department of Tourism is to target various markets, whether that be families, solo travelers, luxe travelers, barkadas, and the like. And we have very specific programs that are targeted to various niche markets specifically for dive. We have dive enthusiasts from all over the world and many jurisdictions including North Asia, as well as Europe, to whom dive has been a very strong product for the Philippines. We fully intend to capitalize on that and open up to new markets, especially in Europe in the Middle East by making sure that we can collaborate with the Department of Transportation to mount more flights coming into the country from these jurisdictions,” she stated.
To bolster the native dive trade, the DOT, by its infrastructure arm, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), has offered hyperbaric chambers in dive websites throughout the nation to make sure that scuba divers can have entry to inexpensive therapy for decompression illness.
The 4 operational hyperbaric chambers might be discovered in Mabini, Batangas; Panglao, Bohol; Mandaue, Cebu; and Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Additional hyperbaric chambers can be positioned in Dumaguete, Boracay, Puerto Galera, and Daanbantayan Island, in response to the Secretary.
Other officers and visitors current through the inaugural PTDD are Undersecretary and Con-current Regional Director for DOT-7 Shahlimar Hofer Tamano, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary Elmer Francisco Sarmiento, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Assistant Secretary Gilbert Gonzales, and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Assistant Secretary Lillian de Leon.
Also in attendance are Lone District of Antique Representative Antonio B. Legarda, Jr.; Cebu Provincial Government Board Member Andrei Duterte; Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Vice Admiral Robert Patrimonio and Commodore Agapito Bibat; Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) 7 Regional Director Emmanuel Carpio; and native mayors from the Visayas and Mindanao areas.
A preview of Cebu’s tradition, gastronomy
Meanwhile, contributors of the first-ever Philippine Tourism Dive Dialogue received a preview of Cebu’s wealthy tradition and heritage, and a style of the province’s greatest delicacies on the welcome dinner hosted by Governor Gwen Garcia represented by Vice Governor Hilario Davide III for the delegates on Thursday (Sept. 14).
The dinner, held on the iconic Cebu Provincial Capitol was additionally made particular by the performances of Cebuano cultural dancers who carried out on the not too long ago concluded Pasigarbo Sa Sugbo, the province’s largest competition competitors amongst its municipalities and cities.
Translating Love into Action
On the second day of the Dive Dialogue, Secretary Frasco led a coastal cleanup exercise on the beachfront of the Mactan Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
Speaking earlier than divers, native officers, representatives from varied nationwide authorities companies, and tourism stakeholders, Secretary Frasco emphasised the significance of “actualizing love” for the Philippines by doing small acts that might make a big impact on the generations forward.
“It is only right that the highlight of our very first Philippine Tourism Dive Dialogue is to actualize this love by protecting that which we love, our marine resources,” the Tourism Chief stated.
“Through this coastal cleanup today, we perpetuate not only the culture of conservation but also the culture of tourism, for conservation and tourism must go hand in hand if we are to preserve our beautiful and natural resources for the long run. Millions of lives depend upon our protection of the environment and our perpetuation of sustainable tourism. That is why any small act, including the picking up of debris from the coast, the underwater seas, does matter,” she emphasised.
Secretary Frasco likewise wished for the safety of the atmosphere, particularly amongst vacationers, to maintain the nation’s pure atmosphere in the long term.
“It is my sincere hope that through our coming together—speaking, collaborating, finding solutions, and deepening our care for our coastal and underwater resources—through these acts, we would be able to begin opening up the minds of our fellow Filipinos as well as our tourists towards the imperative necessity of protecting and preserving our natural environment for now and for the future generations,” she stated.
In attendance through the coastal cleanup occasion have been Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan, Congresswoman Ma. Cynthia “Cindi” King Chan, and DENR provincial consultant Cleo Colis.
The submit 1st Philippine Tourism Dive Dialogue unites dive industry: 37B raked in 2022 appeared first on Travel Daily Media.
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