By Ercel Maandig/PNA
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Department of Tourism in Northern Mindanao (DOT-10) is preparing the mechanics and searching for possible partners while the provincial government of Camiguin island is now ready to host the International Dive Photo Contest in February 2019 in line with the National Diving Festival that runs for three months.
DOT-10 Regional Director May Salvana Unchuan recalled that the Dive Festival was already launched last March this year in Cebu City.
“This is one way of having massive promotion of Dive Tourism in the country, which is among the best dive spots in Asia, and Camiguin is among the best in the country,” she said.
Camiguin Provincial Tourism Officer Candice Dael reported that Governor Ma. Luisa Romualdo is excited about hosting the event and is ready to shoulder the cost of prizes and good accommodations for divers from other countries.
Dael, however, did not disclose the total amount of appropriation by the local government for its first-ever hosting of an international diving photo contest.
In their recent statistics gathered, DOT-10 reported that there are at least 10 quality dive spots in the island alone that are very competitive with those of the Philippines’ neighboring countries in Asia. No. 1 in the list is the White Island, which is among the best in the world because of its unique features.
According to Unchuan, some famous dive spots in the world will feature only one focal point such as Underwater Landscape or the Macro Photography and Night or Torch Diving.
“But in Camiguin you can do Landscape, you can do Macro and Torch Diving in just a single event. Camiguin’s weather is not destructive, and biodiversity is good because of the local government’s strict implementation of measures for protection and preservation. Several names in Diving Sports such as Ram Yuro, Noel Guevarra and Bo Macau have started to love diving in Camiguin because of these multi-features,” Unchuan said.
