Batangas aims for continued support for dive tourism development

Mabini, Batangas — Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat on Wednesday, December 9, expressed support for the continued development of dive tourism in Anilao, otherwise known as the birthplace of scuba diving in the Philippines.

During the stakeholders meeting hosted by Mabini Mayor Noel Luistro, Secretary Puyat encouraged the business sector, the dive establishment operators in particular, to strictly uphold health and safety protocols as well as to work together to improve the readiness of their area for dive tourism during the quarantine period and onwards to the new normal.

“The Department is hard at work not only for the slow but sure reopening of our destinations but also on the persistent but guarded development of the dive tourism industry,” Puyat said in her opening remarks.

Puyat, who also chairs the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD), the DOT’s attached agency mandated to implement the safety standards for dive tourism, attested to the challenges of the diving industry during COVID. These include the non-compliance of some dive establishments on the minimum health and safety guidelines, the low revenue and high unemployment rates, the lack of trained medical personnel to operate the hyperbaric chamber, the need for installation and maintenance of mooring buoys to protect dive sites, and the high cost of COVID-19 tests, among others.

For its part, the PCSSD commits to continue waiving the accreditation fees for dive establishments and professionals; conducting subsidized trainings for dive professionals; organizing events that will attract guests; providing either online or hybrid platform for selling and promoting dive packages throughout the dive media network and community.

The tourism chief also cited efforts to lower the cost of RT-PCR tests required of tourists to make traveling more appealing and affordable. For his part, Mayor Luistro agreed to pay for the RT-PCR tests of all tourism front liners in his area.

“We must continue to hold hands and use this period as an opportune time to reassess our programs, projects and activities to make them more responsive to the needs of the dive tourism sector,” she added.

As of 05 December, the DOT Region 4A has issued 51 Provisional Certificates of Authority to Operate (PCAO) to dive establishments in Mabini, Batangas, 28 of which are PCSSD-accredited.

Anilao has more than 40 documented dive sites and serves as a playground to underwater macro photographers due to the notable presence of nudibranchs and other critters.

It consistently leads as a macro diving destination in several global surveys of world-renowned dive media such as Scuba Diving Magazine’s Readers Choice Awards and Sport Diver.

The dive establishments in attendance include: