The Philippines received its fifth straight win as Asia’s Leading Dive Destination at the World Tourism Awards 2023. The DOT is keen on finding new markets for leisure divers to visit the country.
In remarks at the opening of the first Philippine Tourism Dive Dialogue in Cebu on September 14 and 15, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said, “The focus of the Department of Tourism [DOT] is to target various markets, whether that be families, solo travelers, luxe travelers, barkadas [groups of friends], and the like. And we have very specific programs that are targeted to various dive niche markets.
The dive industry contributed some P37 billion in visitor receipts in 2022, accounting for about 17.5 percent of the P209-billion total inbound tourism spend that year. The DOT failed to provide comparative periods for the dive receipts earned by the country, but a previous interview with agency officials estimated about 5 percent of total foreign visitors arrivals dive as a primary activity or as an optional tour.
Although the Dive Dialogue was held in her home province of Cebu in Central Visayas, Frasco said the event also highlighted other key and emerging dive destinations in the country. “It’s not only Central Visayas that is being featured [at this event]. We have also invited our stakeholders from all over the Philippines in the effort to expand the dive tourism portfolio of the Philippines,” she said.