CEBU CITY (PIA) -- The Department of Tourism (DOT) kicked off its first Philippine Tourism Dive Dialogue in Cebu on September 14, 2023, which gathered over 300 dive tourism stakeholders in the country.

The two-day dialogue aims to address current issues in diving tourism, promote collaboration among public and private stakeholders, advocate for sustainable practices, discussions on safety, standards, and accreditation of tourism-related establishments (TREs) for scuba diving, and the exploration of promising investment opportunities within the dive industry to foster the growth of dive tourism in the Philippines.

The dialogue ends on Sept. 15, 2023 with a coastal clean-up in one of the beaches in Mactan.

Consultation with stakeholders

Tourism and Diving Association of Southern Leyte President Phil McGuire said he joined the dialogue to know more about the post-disaster rehabilitation efforts in the coastal areas.

“I came here to participate and ask questions about the marine protected area and coral restoration following typhoon Odette 2 years ago. I'm very concerned mostly about coral restoration,” said McGuire, who also owns Sogod Bay Scuba Resort.

He hopes the local government units will join the dialogue to consult with the stakeholders before they come up with policies for implementation in their areas.

“I am hoping for the local government units to participate in this dialogue because they make the rules and regulations and they do what they think is best without consulting the stakeholders, and we, the stakeholders, are trying to make that connection,” added McGuire.

Tourism in post-pandemic

DOT Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco, in her keynote speech during the said dialogue, disclosed that in 2022, the Philippine Tourism industry contributed over 6.2% of the gross domestic product.

“National economic managers have recognized tourism as the top 2 driver of economic growth in the first six months of 2023,” said Frasco.

The industry brought 2.65 million international visitors in 2022, exceeding the target of 1.7 million bringing in over P1.87 trillion of combined international and domestic visitor receipts, reflecting a 67% recovery rate in tourism visitors receipts among the Asian neighbors.

Frasco said the domestic tourism has long sustained the Philippine economy. 

In 2022, over 102 million domestic trips were taken by tourists in the country, representing 84% in recovery rate compared to 2019.

These numbers reflect tourism growth in terms of employment and livelihood generating 5.35 million jobs in 2022, a 93% recovery rate compared to 2019.

Frasco attributes this to the recovery of the Micro-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and partners in the tourism sector.

There was an estimated P37 billion in tourist receipts from international dive visitors coming into the Philippines, constituting over 17.5% of the total tourism receipts in 2022.

Dive Dialogue

The tourism secretary said that through the Dive Dialogue, they aim to bring together the efforts of the national and local governments as well as the private sector to boost the dive industry in the country.

“This exercise intends to consolidate and converge all the relevant national government agencies, local government units as well as our partners in the private sectors to ensure that the successes that the dive industry has had in the past few years can be sustained and further expanded,” Frasco emphasized.

On an international scale, the country’s dive tourism has helped the Philippines earn global recognition as a top destination last year.

“It is by no accident that the Philippines has been declared the world’s leading destination in 2022 and most recently having successfully defended for the fifth year in a row its title as Asia’s leading dive destination under the Word Travel Awards,” said Frasco.

She said the country is taking this “bold step of convergence so that our diverse stakeholders in the tourism industry may feel the hand of government reach out to them, so we may be able to understand the challenges that you face and adjust policy accordingly, if necessary.”

The tourism chief also highlighted the importance of listening and understanding the prevailing challenges faced by the tourism industry, which can be addressed by collaboration, convergence, and unity.

She cited the directive of Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to make the tourism industry inclusive, where the benefits of tourism are felt across the countryside.

Frasco hopes that with the creation of the newly-installed Dive Committee of the DOT, the Philippines will be able to expand its diving destination portfolio.

The tourism secretary also announced that procurement is now underway for four hyperbaric chambers for Dumaguete, Boracay, Puerto Galera, and Daanbantayan for delivery by 2024.

This is in addition to the current four hyperbaric chambers in operation in Batangas, Bohol, Mandaue, and Puerto Princesa. (MYP/PIA7 Cebu)