Scuba diving industry struggles to stay afloat
The Philippine Commission on Scuba Diving (PCSD) is urging Cebuanos to learn scuba diving to save the industry’s waning business.
PCSD commissioner Bo Mancao revealed that due to the pandemic, scuba divers in Cebu, including those who own and maintain shops, professional scuba diving trainers, are now struggling to keep their livelihood afloat, some have already resorted to fishing to survive.
Because of this, Mancao called adventure seeker Cebuanos to include scuba diving as part of their adventure list, aside from going to the beach and just swim.
“It’s sad because we are hurting too. Divers are now fishing in dive sites,”Mancao said expressing fears that if the fishing activities were to continue in the diving destinations, this may ruin the resources of the sites.
Pre-pandemic, the scuba diving industry in Cebu province thrived by the coming in of foreign scuba diving enthusiasts and professionals. Cebu, and other parts of the Visayas have carved good reputation among professional divers around the world.
According to Mancao, more than 70 percent of the scuba diving business is lost due to the border restrictions.
Recently, the PCSD and Department of Tourism (DOT7) launched the Dive 7 program to encourage people to go try diving and discover its beauty.
According to DOT-7 regional director Shalimar Tamano, after the Moalboal event, people are coming in and trying scuba diving.
Region-wide, Cebu has the biggest scuba diving community. Before Covid-19, Mancao said majority or 80 percent of Cebuanos were just nonchalant about Cebu’s niche in scuba diving, much less being the top choice in the world.
Mancao dismissed impressions that scuba diving is exclusive and expensive.
Instead, he said it is easy, safe, and cost can be adjusted.
Popular scuba diving sites in Cebu include: Moalboal, Malapascua Island, Mactan Island, Olango Group of Islands, Nalusuan Island, Hilutungan Island, Capitancillo Island (Bogo), as well as diving sites in towns of Alegria, Samboan and Santander.
Prior to pandemic, the Central Visayas vied to host the 2021 Philippine International Dive Expo (Phidex) in Bohol, to strengthen the region’s lead as diving destination.
Bohol was supposedly eyed as the host of this year’s global diving expo, taking into consideration that 60 percent of the country’s scuba diving shop operators come from Central Visayas.
“We are at the center of diving in the country. We even beat Thailand in scuba diving,” said Tamano.
Among the popular diving destinations in Central Visayas are Apo Island and Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental; Bohol; Malapascua and Moalboal in Cebu; and Siquijor Island.
In 2019, Philippines was recognized as the world’s leading dive destination at the World Travel Awards (WTA).
The Philippines was picked over Azores Islands, Bora Bora, French Polynesia, Cayman Islands, Fiji, Galapagos Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Maldives, and Mexico.
The WTA awards are made annually by an international jury of hospitality experts and peers, mainly from the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Mancao stressed that Cebu has to sustain the scuba diving industry despite the absence of foreign divers, saying “I don’t want our little niche market be forgotten.”
In 2017, close to half a billion pesos in tourism receipts were earned by the Philippines from scuba divers.
Other famous diving sites in the country include; Danjugan Island in Negros Occidental, Southern Leyte, Subic and Batanes.