By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
Paoay, Ilocos Norte—The enormous potential of Ilocos Norte as
a premiere tourist destination in this northern gateway of Luzon goes beyond
its historical and cultural landscape as professional divers from the
Philippine Scuba Divers Association (PSDA) will conduct an initial survey and
explore this province’s rich marine environment.
Set on November 30, a
group of five diving professionals will visit Culili point, a majestic hill
overlooking the West Philippine Sea at Brgy. Masintoc in Paoay, Ilocos Norte to
explore its possibility to be included as part of the country’s scuba diving
destinations.
Around the Culili point is a
vast area of rolling hills and sand dunes, declared as a natural geological
monument that expands from the boundary of Currimao and Paoay to Brgy. La Paz
in Laoag City.
The same site is now being
frequented by local and foreign tourists for its tourism activities like 4x4
off-road challenge and sand boarding.
This is also where
international films such as the “Born on the 4th of July and
local films such as Panday, Temptation Island and other musical films were shot
at the sand dunes.
The coastal waters of Ilocos
Norte particularly the Culili point has been cited by the Philippine
Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD) as one of the
potential scuba diving destinations in Ilocos Norte.
Ma. Milagros Gonzales,
provincial director of the DOT-Laoag sub office said some members of the
PSDA will be coming to Paoay to explore the area as a diving site.
Some four months ago, the
PCSSD under the umbrella of the DOT launched a training program
for scuba divers in Ilocos Norte. They also taught
participants with basic life saving techniques and rehabilitation of coral
reefs.
As a result, the PCSSD in
partnership with the provincial government of Ilocos Norte agreed to explore
the province’s great potential as a scuba diving site to boost
further the influx of tourists, particularly diving enthusiasts in various
parts of world.
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