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Birdwatching Chatterbirds
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Tourism department cites bird-watching as promising thrust
BIRD-WATCHING could serve as a specialized thrust in the Philippine government’s effort to boost the number of foreign visitors in the country
In a statement last Tuesday, the Department of Tourism (DoT) said it has teamed up with the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corp. (PCVC) to invite the bird watchers to tour the country’s avian sanctuaries like Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve in Laguna; the Nabasan Trail in Subic Bay Freeport and Special Economic Zone; Villa Escudero in Quezon; Chocolate Hills, Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape and Tarsier and Wildlife Sanctuary in Bohol; Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary and Tabunan Forest in Cebu; as well as Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Sabang Beach, Mangrove Forest and Lion’s Cave in Palawan.
The effort resulted in a recent visit by top executives of some of the United States’ major bird-watching tour operators. The party was composed of Richard Webster, senior field leader of Field Guides; Gavin Bieber, senior field leader of Wings Birding Tours; David Wolf, co-founder and director of Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT); Robert Schutsky, owner and operator of Bird Treks; Simon Thompson, president and owner of Venture Birding Tours; Adrian Binns, senior leader of Wildside Nature Tours; Hector Gomez de Silva Graza, general manager of Eagle-Eye Tours; Ana Daza, general manager of Tropical Birding Tours; William Robert Maynard, editor of Winging It; and Melvin White, travel writer of National Geo Traveler and Living Bird Magazine.
Among others, the group cited rare sightings of the Indigo-Banded Kingfisher and Pygmy Flowerpecker in the areas they visited.
"While birding in the Philippines is still a challenge, seeing around 309 exotic species in 10 days is indeed remarkable," the DoT statement quoted Mr. Webster of Field Guides as saying.
It added that VENT’s Mr. Wolf even found spots in Metro Manila itself, particularly Palay-Palay Mangrove Reserve in Mall of Asia and the University of the Philippines Diliman campus.
The party suggested the months of January-March as the best time to bring foreign bird watchers to the country due to the generally pleasant weather in that period.
"We hope that bird-watching will be sustained and further developed... with the groundwork already laid down and the market secured," said former Tourism Secretary Joseph "Ace" H. Durano, who was succeeded yesterday by Alberto A. Lim at the helm of the department under the newly installed administration of President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III.
Speaking before Mr. Aquino’s inauguration yesterday noontime as the country’s 15th president, Mr. Lim said only that he would immediately focus on improving tourism infrastructure and products. The newly inaugurated president has directed his Cabinet men to review existing programs and targets of their respective departments.
The DoT statement cited a study, "Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economics Analysis," as estimating that there are about 18 million bird watchers in the US alone and that bird-watching is becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing recreational activities.
This, plus the fact that 200, or about a third, of the bird species in the Philippines are endemic, had prompted the department to target this high-income tourism segment.
"Bird-watching is admittedly in its fledgling stage in the country; that’s why we enjoin our partner stakeholders to support one of our biggest tourism revenue generators," the statement quoted Tourism Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque, Jr. as saying.
Bird-watching teams usually travel in groups of 10 persons, stay for 18-23 days and spend about $6,000-7,000, excluding airfare, Mr. Jarque noted.
The same statement quoted DoT North America Team Head Corazon Jorda-Apo as saying that "part of the long-term strategy of the DoT for bird-watching includes intensive manpower training for local bird guides and forest rangers."
"At present, we are in the process of selecting top seven birding destinations which will be the focus of product development and marketing efforts," she said
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