Whale watching and even swimming with them is one major tourism draw for a number of coastal towns in the Philippines, particularly in provinces in Bicol and the Visayas region.
The Department of Tourism encourages tourists who enjoy these sea activities to learn to properly interact with marine wildlife without endangering their existence and manner of living.
According to the DOT—in celebration of the World Environment Month this month— tourists need to educate themselves on sustainable interaction with marine wildlife.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said “observing marine wildlife in its natural habitat is incredibly fulfilling and quite an experience you cannot forget,” but she also stressed that the “irresponsible interaction with marine wildlife can cause severe long-term damage to them and their environment.”
“Respecting the ocean and its inhabitants must be the top priority of every tourist who wants to connect with marine wildlife. Learning how to properly engage with these species is a small but crucial step in protecting and sustaining our marine biodiversity,” Puyat added.
To bring awareness on the need for tourists to learn sustainable interaction with marine wildlife, the DOT will conduct seminars to educate tourism stakeholders on sustainable and responsible marine tourism guidelines in the coming months, especially now that local tourism continuously picks up on coastal destinations.
These guidelines are part of the joint memorandum on rules and regulations governing the conduct of marine wildlife tourism interaction in the Philippines (JMC) issued last year by the DOT in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Agriculture (DA), and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
These guidelines include the establishment of zones in marine tourist destinations, the code of conduct for persons and sea vessels within the zones, the prohibited acts within dedicated interaction sites, the specific regulations per type of marine activity, and the responsibilities of the lead agencies in compliance monitoring and enforcement of the said regulations.
The guidelines were crafted to ensure that tourism interactions do not adversely affect marine wildlife behavior and population, particularly large marine vertebrates, such as dugong, cetaceans (dolphins, whales, and porpoises), whale sharks, other sharks, manta rays, and marine turtles.
Future plans of the joint memorandum also include identifying, accrediting, and recognizing marine wildlife tourism sites in the country that are dedicated and compliant with the regulations.
