Tourism in Bicol rides high above global recession

Singapore is so greedy. We don't have whale sharks then too bad why must we steal from other countries! Leave the whale sharks in the wild where they belong. It's so sad for a butanding to be in a tank in an aquarium.

Tourism in Bicol rides high above global recession, notes Escudero
Monday, 06 April 2009 20:17 Business Mirror

The whale-shark season starts in January and lasts until the end of the third quarter of the year, although the butanding, as the whale shark in known locally, could be sighted the throughout the year off the coastlines of municipalities straddling the Sorsogon Bay and Ticao Pass.

Visitors here take rented boats to where the whale sharks swim, and the more adventurous visitors are allowed to swim with the butanding.

The municipality is also preparing for the three-day Butanding Festival that starts on April 28. The festival features cultural dances, parades and fluvial processions as a way of giving thanks for the good life brought about the whale sharks.

The celebration’s main attraction, however, is eco-tourism, where visitors are taken by boats out in sea. Organized by trained tour operators and guides, the visitors are allowed to interact with the whale sharks.

The whale sharks have contributed significantly to tourism in the region. More than 1.3 million local and foreign tourist arrived in Bicol last year, Escudero said.