Rosette Adel - Philstar.com
MANILA, Philippines — For the fifth consecutive year this 2023, the Philippines remains to be the leading dive destination in the region.
The World Travel Awards (WTA) awarded the Philippines the Asia’s Leading Dive Destination title at the preeminent WTA Asia & Oceania Gala Ceremony 2023 held at the GEM Center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The trophy was personally received by Tourism Undersecretary Shahlimar Hofer Tamano.
The award was based on public votes and validation from the group’s panel of travel professional.
Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said the recent victory “affirms the unparalleled beauty and megabiodiversity of our country loved by divers and tourists all over the world.”
“This is a testament to the Philippines' commitment to sustainable tourism development and our strengthened collaboration with tourism stakeholders. From our ridges to our reefs, you will never run out of reasons to Love the Philippines!” Frasco added.
The tourism chief, an advocate and diver, is promoting programs that elevate the dive industry.
Among those is the Department of Tourism’s creation of the Dive Committee that will align its dive product development and promotion thrusts with its attached agencies, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines, and the Philippine Commission for Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD).
The tourism agency will also convene the country’s national dive stakeholders in the first-ever Philippine Dive Dialogue in Cebu next week to consolidate all the efforts of the national government, local governments and private sector partners.
It is also eying the installation of additional hyperbaric chambers that will improve scuba diving safety standards in strategic dive locations, such as Dumaguete and Daanbantayan in Cebu, by 2024. This will be led by its infrastructure arm, TIEZA.
The DOT likewise launched its own dive expo brand, the Philippine International Dive Expo (PHIDEX), the world's only dive show that combines a dive travel exchange, a business-to-business (B2B) meeting program, dive conferences and seminars, exhibition booths, and familiarization tours to key and emerging Philippine dive destinations. The fourth edition of PHIDEX is slated in February next year.
There are also regional dive-centric events hosted by the DOT which include the DOT Office of Product and Market Development - Dive Team’s Anilao Underwater Shootout in Batangas, the DIVE7 Festival series by the DOT Region VII office, the Davao Dive Expo by the DOT Region XI office, and the NorthMin Dive by the DOT Region X office —which opened on September 6, among others.
Lastly, the DOT has supported diving initiatives, assessments and expeditions, including the Cebu Travel Catalogue, the Bohol Loop Dive Expo (BHOLDEX), the 3rd MisOr Dive Festival, Samal Island Dive Seafari and Bay Deep Mati Freediving Festival, among many others.
WTA Asia & Oceania
Meanwhile, aside from bagging the leading dive destination title, Philippine private tourism stakeholders also won awards.
These stakeholders were recognized in the Asian and country category:
Okada Manila - Asia’s Leading Casino Resort
Discovery Shores Boracay - Philippines’ Leading Beach Resort 2023
Travelite Travel and Tours Co. - Philippines’ Leading Destination Management Company 2023
Seda Hotels - Philippines’ Leading Hotel Group 2023
Regional edition awardees, as well as runners-up and previous year’s winners, are qualified for the WTA’s World edition, which will have its grand awards night in Muscat, Oman in November 2023.
WTA, established in 1993, is touted as “the ultimate hallmark of excellence" in the tourism and hospitality industries” globally.
