PH wins 2019 World’s Leading Dive Destination award

FILE: A picture of vibrant-colored corals taken during a dive festival in Camiguin. (Photo courtesy of Bo Mancao via PNA)

Filipinos gave more reason for tourists — plus points if they love having fun in the water — to add the Philippines to their list of places to visit next.

For the first time, the Pearl of the Orient Seas was just named as the “2019 World’s Leading Dive Destination” at the World Travel Awards (WTA) grand final gala ceremony held at the Royal Opera House Muscat in Muscat, Oman, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced on Friday, November 29.

It bested eight other global dive destinations nominated under the same category: Azores Islands, Bora Bora in French Polynesia, Cayman Islands, Fiji, Galapagos Islands, Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Mexico, and Maldives, which won the title last year.

DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat welcomed the latest recognition of the Philippines, saying that it is a validation that the country is “truly a premier dive destination.

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“Dubbed by marine experts and scientists as the heart of marine biodiversity in the world, our country is home to the highest concentration of coral reef life and astounding variety of marine species,” she said.

Apart from this, Amanpulo Resort in Palawan also won the World’s Leading Dive Resort award at the gala event.

After being nominated since 2006, the Philippines finally bagged its first “Asia’s Leading Dive Destination” award at the WTA gala event for Asia and Oceania in Vietnam last October.

In September, the DOT hosted the country’s first international dive expo where foreign buyers had the opportunity to see and experience first-hand Philippine dive products as well as knowledge on the country’s dive destinations like Anilao, Batangas, Puerto Galera, Camiguin, Coron and Tubbataha, Palawan, among others.

“Through the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD), we also ensure that diving safety and operating standards in the country are at par with the rest of the world,” Puyat said.