...the best dive site for Japanese

PHL voted among top 3 dive destinations in Tokyo tilt

April 23, 2012

GMA News

 

 

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

...the best diving area

PH voted as best diving area at Japan fair

abs-cbnNEWS.com

08/21/2011

 

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines was chosen as one of the top diving destinations of the world during the recently concluded 19th Marine Diving Fair in Japan.

 

 

 

The country was voted as Best Diving Area and Best Dreaming Area, alongside heavyweights such as Maldives and Palau, the Tourism Department said in a statement.

Four companies -- 2 from Cebu and 2 from Bohol -- were also recognized:

• Blue Coral, Cebu - Favorite Dive Operator
• Good Dive Shop, Bohol - Favorite Dive Operator
• White Sands Beach Resort, Cebu - Best Diving Resort Hotel
• Bohol Tropics Resort - Best Diving Resort Hotel

"We are particularly proud of our strong showing in the Best Diving Area category, which has placed us in the company of some of the most acclaimed dive countries in the world," former Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said.

"We anticipate that the Philippines will secure a more significant slice of the Japanese diving market after these latest successes, especially that Japan has been very supportive of encouraging 2-way tourism between our countries."

The Marine Diving Fair, which began in 1993, is considered one of the largest dive and beach resort exhibitions in Asia. This year's event featured 213 exhibitors from 59 countries and attracted over 50,000 visitors.

The Tourism Department estimates that the Japanese scuba diving population at 5 million. It added that Japan is the third largest source of foreign visitor arrivals to the Philippines.