The municipality of Dauin in Negros Oriental, a popular diving spot in the Philippines, has reopened its shores for domestic tourists in a bid to revive the province's tourism industry amid the pandemic.
Dauin Mayor Galicano Truita declared the reopening of the town for dive tourists last Feb. 19. Dauin was the first to resume its dive tourism sector in the Negros province.
"I invite local from Metro Manila, Mindanao, Visayas, Cebu, Bacolod -- open na ang ating diving tourism sa Dauin (our diving tourism in Dauin is now open)," Truita said in a press conference at The Henry Hotel in Dumaguete on Thursday, Feb. 25.
Among the popular diving sites that opened in Dauin is the Apo Island, which is one of the world’s best-known community-organized marine sanctuaries. It is home to over 650 documented species of fish and more than 400 species of corals.
According to Truita, snorkeling activities on the island have also been allowed, while accommodation establishments were given the green light to resume operations as long as they have been certified by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
Under Executive Order 2020-29 signed by Truita last December, tourists planning to visit Dauin should have a negative RT-PCR test result taken within 72 hours before travel, and pre-arranged or prebooked room accommodations, dive tours, or scuba diving courses in DOT-accredited establishments or dive shops.
Tourists were also reminded to register and create a QR code through StaySafe.ph app for contact-tracing purposes. This will be used upon arrival at the airport and during their stay in Dauin.
Arriving tourists will be picked up either by the local government unit's (LGU) transport service or by their booked hotel, where they will undergo the mandatory five-day quarantine before proceeding to their planned activities.
Truita noted that there will be no age restrictions imposed on permitted scuba divers and tourists entering the municipality. However, children below 10 years old or senior citizens with existing high-risk health conditions are prohibited to go out of the accommodation establishment unless accompanied by a medically-trained staff of the hotel.
Meanwhile, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat lauded the reopening of dive tourism in Dauin, which she visited on Friday, Feb. 26.
Puyat, who also chairs the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD), added that more PCSSD workers will be deployed to the region to strengthen the building capacity and accreditation of dive establishments.
"This would allow the more efficient processing of the requirements to reopen dive establishments in Negros Oriental. The DOT Region 7 office has also set up several diving activities for the year, including support for a marketing event previously discussed with the Negros Oriental Dive Association," the tourism chief said.
Last year, the DOT announced that the Philippines won the Best Overseas Diving Area award during the Marine Diving Awards 2020 held in Tokyo.
The country topped the Overseas Diving Category for the first time after garnering 814 out of the 3,572 total votes cast by subscribers of the Marine Diving Magazine.