DAVAO ORIENTAL, Philippines – The Department of Tourism stepped up a campaign to give marine wildlife tourism in Mindanao a boost, starting in Mati City which staged its first-ever freediving festival in late September.
For starters, the DOT and the Mati City government collaborated to bring in known freedivers to take part in the first Bay Deep Mati Freediving Festival on September 25 and 26. Encompassing some 20,887 hectares, the U-shaped Pujada Bay is also a protected seascape and landscape.The freediving festival, organized and staged following, attracted several dozen freedivers, including well-known Belgian freedivers Gert Leroy and Jean-Pol Francois.
“Every diving site is different. I would not compare dive sites. Pujada Bay has potential. That’s for sure. The challenge will be to keep it clean with sustainable tourism and provide well-organized logistics to the dive spots,” Leroy said on Saturday, October 1. Leroy added, “Every trip was a little bit different – nice corals, beautiful corals. It is a big bay, so there is a lot to explore. I think there is a lot of diversity in this bay.”
Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon said local officials were collaborating to strengthen tourism in the province, including its capital city Mati.
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