Carlos Salinas, the Philippine Ambassador to Spain, led the inauguration on June 2. The dive exhibit, which was organized by the Embassy in coordination with Metro de Madrid and the Department of Tourism, will run from June 1 to 30 and is one of the Philippines’ activities for Mes Filipino.
Mes Filipino is a month-long celebration organized by the Philippine Embassy in June of each year to commemorate the anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence and Philippines-Spain Friendship Day through cultural activities such as exhibits, seminars, concerts and food festivals, among others.
After June 30, the exhibit will move to other metro stations in Madrid.
The exhibit features colorful and interesting photographs of the different diving sites that the Philippines has to offer – Mindoro, Batangas, Palawan, Tubbataha Reef, Bohol, Cebu, Negros, and Donsol.
The photographs, featuring different wildlife and dive wrecks used in the exhibit, were contributed by known underwater photographers Scott Tuason, Stephen Tan, Tobias Kammann, Oliver Ang, Jayvee Fernandez, Wowie Wong, and Oka Espenilla.
The exhibit is part of the Embassy´s efforts to increase tourism arrivals from Spain. Based on the consolidated figures reported by top Spanish dive operators, around 50% of all tourism arrivals in the Philippines from Spain were divers.
For the first quarter of 2013, there had been a 9.7% increase in Spanish arrivals to the Philippines compared to the same period last year. Total Spanish arrivals to the Philippines for 2012 reached 15,985, which represents an 8.51% increase from 2011.
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