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World's
Best Dive Spots
The Philippine Star
April 18, 2006
Thailand, Hawaii and other South Pacific and Caribbean
countries are known for their prime scuba sites —
but they have nothing on the Philippines, which has
officially earned the distinction of being among the
world’s top three diving destinations.
Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) general manager Robert
Barbers said the country was chosen as one of the top
three dive sites in the world during the Dive and Travel
Awards for 2006 held in Japan.
 The
best dive site award was a result of a survey conducted
by the Marine Diving Fair (MDF), now considered to be
Asia’s largest scuba diving and beach resort exhibition
that annually attracts over 50,000 travelers.
"The Philippines was very fortunate to be given
recognition and the honor to be named among the best
dive sites in the world next to Maldives and Palau,"
Barbers said.
The Philippines swam past other locations with internationally
known diving sites including Thailand, Hawaii and several
South Pacific and Caribbean countries.
During the award ceremony, Barbers expressed optimism
that with this new distinction, more foreign travelers
will be encouraged to visit the Philippines and enjoy
the many different dive sites around the country.
According to Barbers, the tourism market of the world’s
diving industry is very big, thus tourism industry stakeholders
must intensify efforts to develop dive resorts around
the country in order to attract more tourists.
"We have more than 7,000 islands and exploring
even a third of these as potential dive sites would
surely be a welcome development in our tourism industry.
Hopefully in the succeeding years the Philippines could
be named as the best dive site in the world," Barbers
said.
Among the top internationally recognized dive spots
in the country are the Tubattaha Reef in the Sulu Sea;
Malapascua in Cebu which offers the chance to glimpse
rare treasure sharks; Balicasag island off Bohol; Anilao,
Batangas; and Puerto Galera in Mindoro for its colorful
corals, strong currents and big fishes.
Also well known among divers are Apo Island off Dumaguete
and the surrounding islands of Palawan.
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