PHIDEX 2021 Dives Into Digital: Our Sea, Our Story

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is hosting this year’s Philippine International Dive Expo (PHIDEX) online via virtual conferencing from March 19 to 21, 2021, in an effort to assist and sustain the country’s diving sector.

Since 2019, PHIDEX has been the Philippines’ largest forum for the diving community. For the time being, the event has gone digital because to the global COVID-19 pandemic, but the new format will allow the exhibition to reach even more people of the diving community.

As the local diving sector and people who rely on it have been damaged by COVID-19, this year’s PHIDEX, entitled “Our Sea, Our Story,” aims to raise awareness and propose ways to help the business recover faster.

“Because the Philippines is known across the world for its diving locations, it is critical that we do everything we can to ensure the local diving industry’s long-term viability. Our most recent accolade came from the 2020 World Travel Awards, which recognized the Philippines the World’s Leading Dive Destination. This year’s PHIDEX is a step in the right direction in terms of maintaining our progress toward recovery, allowing everyone to experience the natural marvels that our archipelago has to offer,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, who will formally launch the event, stated.
This year’s PHIDEX will include a number of notable international celebrities who are specialists on the sea in conversations and talks.

Dr. Terry Gosliner of the California Academy of Sciences, French-British underwater photographer Henley Spiers, Emmy Award-winning husband-and-wife documentary team Howard and Michele Hall, PADI Ambassador and PCSSD Commissioner Bo Mancao, University of the Philippines marine economist and community scientist Tara Abrina, and German underwater photographer Henley Spiers are among the notable names confirmed for the event. Each speaker will speak on a certain aspect of the diving industry or the protection of Philippine seas.

All of these lectures and panel discussions will be streamed live on the event website, which will be divided into three sections: the main stage, the expo stage, and the panel stage. The website will also have a virtual marketplace area dubbed the Dive Travel Exchange, or TRAVEX, where divers and hobbyists may purchase experiences and equipment from partners and exhibitors.

Divers and enthusiasts can now register for PHIDEX 2021 for free at https://phidex.asia/ until March 21.
For more information and updates on the Philippine International Dive Expo, like PHIDEX on Facebook at facebook.com/DOTdivephilippines, follow @dotdivephilippines on Instagram, or visit www.phidex.asia.