NAVAL, Biliran, May 5 (PIA) -- Unfazed with the uncertainties brought by the Covid-19 pandemic to the tourism industry, Maripipi Mayor Joseph Canonoy Caingcoy has already planned of more tourism-related activities which would surely lure tourists to come to Sambawan Island Beach Resort in Maripipi, Biliran.
The messages of DOT-8 Regional Director Karina S. Tiopes, and Biliran 2nd District Board Member Gina B. Enage, who is at the same time the chair of the committee on tourism, mentioned Sambawan as the icon and the gem tourism site in the Province of Biliran, respectively, during its reopening on April 23.
In an interview with Mayor Caingcoy few days after its reopening, he presented, at least four major additional tourism attractions in the island, and these are: sports fishing, scuba diving, cultured giant clam, and as potential nesting habitat of marine turtle.
Caingcoy reiterated the message of OIC BFAR 8 Regional Director Norberto Berida during its reopening, who considered the island as one of the icon tourism destination islets in Eastern Visayas, the idea of introducing sports fishing within its rich fishing ground.
“This will be the first in Biliran, and perhaps in Region 8,” he said on the plan of putting sports fishing with the help on how to do it was assured by RD Berida.
He plans of holding sports fishing competition with prizes in the identified area in the island, but only during fish catch season.
The island is a potential scuba diving area with its rich and untouched corals inhabited with several fish species, considered by some professional group of scuba divers from Cebu who conducted before an underwater viewing as “Cathedral-like corals.”
He is contemplating of procuring scuba diving equipment and to train some assigned personnel in the island on scuba diving with the help of BFAR for purposes of assisting tourists who will go into scuba diving.
Another added tourist attraction he planned is the underwater viewing in the propagation of giant clams, which was propagated by the past developer in one of the islets of Sambawan, but for commercial purposes before and not as added tourist attraction.
“This would be another first in Biliran,” Caingcoy said on the plan underwater viewing in the propagation of giant clams.
The presence of Hawksbill and Green marine turtles, as per information relayed by an official from DENR-Biliran, would be an added attraction in Sambawan, Caingcoy further said.
Some tourists would love to watch how these marine creatures evolved in its habitat in the island, which is rare nowadays, he said.
Aside from these planned added tourist attractions in Sambawan, the renovation of the view deck with the help of the district office of DPWH, putting up of power generator, and on how to improve the potable water system delivery, are now in the pipeline, the first termer local chief executive of the island municipality told during the interview. (ldl/rsv/PIA Biliran)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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