PHL voted among top 3 dive destinations in Tokyo tilt
The Philippines has been voted one of the top three dive destinations in the Marine Diving Fair 2012 in Tokyo, Japan, the Department of Tourism said Monday.
In a news release, the DOT said the Philippines was the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the top three, which also included Palau and Maldives.
This comes after an international travel website earlier this month cited Tubbataha Reef in Palawan and Puerto Galera’s The Canyons as two of the world’s 50 best dive sites.
The DOT also said Blue Coral was named the favorite dive operator for 2012 in the Tokyo tilt, while the Good Dive Shop, another dive operator, was included in the top 10 for the same category.
Since 2006, the Philippines has been consecutively included in Marine Diving Fair’s top five "Best Overseas Destinations,” said DOT. The country has also been consistently awarded as one of the top 10 "Dream Destinations."
Also, it said that since the Philippines' participation in the event in 2000, it had been continuously recognized as one of the top five dive destinations.
The DOT said these awards were given after subscribers of Marine Diving Magazine, one of the most prestigious dive publications in Japan, cast their votes.
It added the Marine Diving Fair 2012, one of the largest diving and beach resort exhibitions in Asia, attracts over 50,000 visitors annually.
For this year, the event had 200 exhibitors from 50 different countries.
The Philippines' colorful booth inspired by the DOT's slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” drew crowds at the event.
It had five aquariums and marine life paintings, and attracted visitors to discover what makes diving “more fun” in the Philippines.
The DOT said its participation at the event aimed to maintain the high profile of the Philippines as a premier and competitive dive destination among Japanese overseas divers.
For his part, DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said the Philippines once again proved it is a must-see dive destination by garnering awards in all four major award categories.
“Our partnership with the private sector dive tour operators has paid off nicely. We encourage more suppliers to keep raising the bar for service excellence to grow this market segment,” he said.
Japan is among the top three sources of foreign tourist arrivals visiting the country in 2011. –KG, GMA News
Great news for the Philippines! I think Papua New Guinea also offers one of the best dive destination in the world.
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