TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Tourism (DOT) regional office here is eyeing the hosting of Philippine Dive Experience to boost the region’s diving industry.

DOT Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said in an interview on Wednesday that Eastern Visayas has many diving sites that can be offered to divers.

Foremost is the Sogod Bay in Southern Leyte province which offers 30 diving destinations that stretches from its coastal waters to the islands of Panaoan and Limasawa.

Sogod Bay is an undiscovered diver’s paradise that offers shore dives to world-class muck diving, pristine coral walls for macro photography diving and night dives.

The bay is a habitat to some 150 species of hard coral, hawksbill and green turtles, butterflyfish, groupers, sweetlips, stingrays and a host of colorful fish species including nudibranchs, sea slugs, sharks, and whale sharks.

To prepare for the Philippine Dive Experience, Tiopes said they must prepare activities for the dive tours, create dive conversation to promote the benefit of diving to the communities and in the protection of marine environment.

“We could also do some activities like coral restoration because we know that their diving sites were affected by Typhoon Odette and they need our help to restore the damaged corals,” she said.

Aside from showcasing the beauty of Sogod Bay, hosting the Philippine Dive Experience will also help promote the region’s culture and cuisine for tourists to understand and relate to the richness of Eastern Visayas heritage.

Tiopes is optimistic that hosting this event will be an opportunity to encourage hotels and resort business to cater to the needs of divers.

“Right now, our players in the diving industry in Southern Leyte has limit when it comes to accepting guests because of the limited number of accommodation facilities. By hosting this event, we want to achieve the increase of dive facilities and accommodation facilities to address the needs of divers that visits us,” she added.

DOT Secretary Cristina Frasco launched the Philippine Dive Experience in November 2024 in Anilao, Batangas, which is an offshoot of the Philippine Experience. This program aims to boost the country’s diving industry providing a meaningful and unique experience to divers and tourists alike.

The Philippine Dive Experience draws inspiration from the DOT’s flagship program the Philippine Experience to market and elevate Philippine diving as a unique and purposeful experience by incorporating heritage and conservation activities. (PNA)