Whale shark watching in Donsol generates P50 M in revenues

DONSOL, Sorsogon – The world-famous whale shark (locally known as butanding) interaction here continues to draw thousands of foreign tourists, generating employment to local residents and boosting tourism revenues.

Department of Tourism-Region 5 director Maria Ravanilla said foreign arrivals here increased from 7,000 in 2005 to 11,000 in 2006, contributing about P50 million to tourism revenues in 2006, according to data from the Worldwide Fund (WWF).

Most of the visitors are Germans, Americans and Japanese, she added.

Sorsogon is host to one of the highest concentration of whale sharks in the world. In 1998, the DOT declared this area an official sanctuary for whale sharks.

A butanding can grow to more than 15 meters, are remarkably gentle and tame enough that it is safe to swim with them.   

Meanwhile, Ravanilla said more residents were being hired in resorts as boat operators and butanding interaction officers.

The figures could have been much bigger if there were more rooms to accommodate more tourists, she said. 

She revealed that more than 200 tourists have to stay in Legazpi City because of room shortage during the Holy Week.

Ravanilla said one of the solutions the DOT has implemented to address this problem is a "home stay" program, wherein some residents offer rooms to guests in their houses at very affordable rates, which ranges from P600 to P1,200.

The DOT is providing training to those who are interested in the "home stay program."

To further strengthen tourism here, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has allocated P60 million for the reconstruction of a bridge in Barangay Dankalan where most of the resorts are located.