THE Philippine Department of Tourism (DoT) is currently drawing up national guidelines for interaction with threatened marine wildlife like giant turtles, whales, whale sharks, dolphins and manta rays in the country.
Local government units will implement the guidelines while accreditation of tour operators offering these activities will come later, said Rica Bueno, director at DoT’s Office of Tourism Standards and Regulations.
When completed within this year, these guidelines will be added to the DoT’s overall ecotourism guidelines, which will include site and product development as well as marketing and promotions, Bueno informed.
The guidelines include “no touching, no feeding, maintaining proper distance, no flash photography, no blocking of path (and) no chasing”, according to marine wildlife expert AA Yaptinchay, who is also general manager of Kirschner Travel Manila and part of the guideline working committee.
Explaining the need for responsible and sustainable wildlife interaction, Yaptinchay, elaborated: “The species subjected to tourism are mostly threatened animals and most are protected in the Philippines.
“They require special handing due to their conservation status, so we do not want tourism to be added to the list of threats already affecting them. Since interacting with them is a form of intrusion, it could affect their behavior, daily activity, biology, etc,” he added.
