The Philippines gears up for the global diving community’s grand gathering at the Philippine International Dive Expo (PHIDEX) 2024, scheduled today, February 23 to 25, 2024 at the World Trade Center Manila in Pasay City.
With the theme “Heart of Asia’s Diving: Collaboration for the Ocean Community,” the event, spearheaded by the Department of Tourism (DOT), has evolved into the Philippines’ largest platform for diving enthusiasts, industry experts, and stakeholders.
Established by the DOT in 2019, PHIDEX stands out as the sole event in the region with a Dive Travel Exchange (TRAVEX) where business-to-business (B2B) meetings between international dive tour operators and Philippine dive industry stakeholders are facilitated.
“I am delighted to welcome the global diving community to PHIDEX 2024, a celebration of our nation’s position as the Heart of Asia’s Diving. This year’s theme reflects our commitment to fostering collaborative partnerships between local and international experts for the development and sustainability of Philippine diving. PHIDEX serves as a vital platform for the exchange of knowledge and best practices, ensuring the global sustainability of ocean tourism,” expressed Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco during one of the preparatory meetings of the expo.
Dive organizations and companies from various countries, including China, Japan, Taiwan, France, Israel, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Australia, Germany, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, South Korea, and Qatar, have confirmed their attendance at the PHIDEX B2B meetings.
Meanwhile, the dive conference will serve as a comprehensive platform for networking and knowledge-sharing across various sectors of the dive industry bringing approximately 120 dive destinations.
Top billing this year’s conference are Laurent Ballesta from France, 2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year who featured the horseshoe crab in Palawan in his award-winning portfolio, and filmmaker Oshim Somers, who will debut on the event his Cannes-award-winning underwater film on the Philippines.
The participation of David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes, leading photographers of National Geographic, is likewise highly anticipated.
With the objective to highlight the Philippines’ competitive advantage as the center of the Coral Triangle, PHIDEX seeks to foster stronger collaboration between local and international dive experts, and to provide a platform for exchanging knowledge and best practices to sustain ocean tourism globally.
As the Philippines has been consistently awarded for diving, the latest being the World’s Leading Dive Destination 2023 by the World Travel Awards, it now rides the popularity of diving as one of the priority tourism products.
The Philippines’ position of significance in the dive tourism landscape has culminated in the DOT’s conduct of the 1st Philippine Tourism Dive Dialogue last year in Cebu City. This paved the way for the convergence of hundreds of participants across the country from the public and private sectors and the academe to gain insights and foster collaboration with industry experts and stakeholders. Thus, DOT administration has pushed for the strengthening of the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD).
Secretary Frasco further pushed to intensify Dive Tourism through the issuance of Department Order 2024-0016 which mandates the creation of a Dive Committee, a technical working group that would address the alignment of technical challenges of dive tourism between the DOT and attached agencies– Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, Tourism Promotions Board, and the PCSSD. This hopes to harmonize programs, projects, and activities of attached agencies and come up with an annual strategic roadmap for dive tourism.
PHIDEX showcases different Philippine dive destinations, equipment, apparel, resorts, and more. 72 DOT and non-DOT-sponsored organizations have registered to participate in the exhibit.
Post-PHIDEX familiarization tours will be offered international buyers and the media for firsthand experience of Philippine dive products and services.