Xinhua News Agency, Manila, November 21. In Batangas Province, southwestern Luzon, the Philippines, Mabini, a small town with clear waters and rich underwater species, has become a “niche collection” in the eyes of many diving enthusiasts.It is also known as the “Diving Capital” of the Philippines.
However, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the tourism industry, one of the pillars of the local economy, has been hit hard, and it has been almost impossible to find tourists for more than a year.
The pier photographed in Mabini, Philippines on November 18. (Photo by Umali)
Filipino Ica Moreno took over a diving resort in Mabini in the second half of 2019, and it didn’t take long for the epidemic to occur. More than 40 rooms in the resort were vacant for a long time, and Moreno had to lay off employees and barely survive.
For Floriande Bueno, head of Mabini’s tourism department, what he is most anxious about during the epidemic is how to ensure that the local tourism industry will not collapse.
Tourism accounts for about 30% of Mabini’s economy. There are more than 100 dive shops of various types, providing thousands of jobs for the local area.Before the epidemic, this small city with a population of less than 70,000 received more than 500,000 tourists each year, of which nearly 30% were from abroad, with South Korea, China and Japan being the main source of tourists.
The seaside taken in Mabini, Philippines on November 18. (Photo by Umali)
After multiple rounds of epidemics and “closures”, with the increase in the new crown vaccination rate, the epidemic situation in the Philippines is continuing to improve, and the number of new cases per day is declining in a stepwise manner.On the 19th of this month, the Philippine government announced that it would restart international tourism, allowing tourists from low-risk areas who have been vaccinated to enter, and they do not need to be quarantined after entry.
In the publicity advertisement of the Ministry of Tourism of the Philippines, the country’s tourism industry will focus on outdoor sports such as diving, surfing, and hiking in the future to adapt to the “new normal” of tourism after the epidemic.
Local tourists filmed in Mabini, Philippines on November 18. (Photo by Umali)
The Mabini Tourism Department has launched a publicity campaign across the Philippines through various channels such as social media, traditional media, and travel agencies to attract tourists to return. More than 80 local dive shops have opened their doors one after another, and Bueno seems to be seeing signs of a recovery in the tourism industry.
In the resort in Moreno, you can see tourists playing in the water, diving and other water sports activities need to be reserved in advance before there are vacant seats. Moreno said that in accordance with the Philippine government’s epidemic prevention requirements, they currently only accept fully vaccinated tourists, while also complying with the 50% maximum reception capacity limit.
The seaside taken in Mabini, Philippines on November 18. (Photo by Umali)
Bueno said most tourism practitioners in Mabini have been vaccinated. At this stage, the main source of tourists is still domestic tourists from the Philippines. As the epidemic gradually improves, I hope that more foreign tourists can visit this “diving capital”. (Reporters: Liu Kai, Yan Jie; Video: Yang Yunqi; Editors: Ma Xiaoyan, Jin Zheng, Wang Shen; Editing: Wang Pei)
Produced by the International Department of Xinhua News Agency
Produced by Xinhua News Agency’s International Communication Integration PlatformReturn to Sohu to see more
Editor:
Disclaimer: The opinions of this article only represent the author himself. Sohu is an information publishing platform. Sohu only provides information storage space services.
.