Manila, Philippines -- The Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT) in cooperation with members of the Underwater Macro Photographers Group (UWMP) will launch its first ever international underwater (UW) shootout in Anilao, a quiet seaside community in Batangas two hours away South of Manila, from December 4 to 8 this year.
The PDOT is setting its sights on promoting the
Philippines as a premier UW macro photography destination in Asia and enticing
more foreign UW photographers to engage their hobby in the Philippines through
the holding of this event in Anilao, “one of the best places for underwater
photography in the world”, according to Christian Vizl, a multi-award winning
underwater photographer.
This joint project, entitled “Anilao Underwater Photo
Competition Festival”, is open to both foreign and local UW photographers and
fun divers for an entry fee of Php1000 or US$20 per participant inclusive of a
4-day dive pass, an event shirt and invitation to hosted welcome and farewell
dinners with cultural entertainment.
Winners will
receive a minimum total of US$10,000 worth of valuable prizes including dive trips
to the country’s best dive sites in Cebu, Bohol and Anilao through the support
of Tourism Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), Prestige Sport Malaysia, Cebu
Pacific Airlines and other partner dive resorts in the Philippines
Simultaneous
with the underwater macro photography contest, fun dives will also be organized
for dive fanatics, as well as the conduct of seminars on “Dive Photography” during
the festival. World renowned UW photographers (i.e., Koji Nakamura, President
of Japan Underwater Films; Yorko Summer, dive travel
journalist; Christian Vizl, current world champion in underwater
photography; Ken Thongpila, multi-award winning underwater photographer and
founder of Underwater Macro Photographers Club; and Michael Aw, one of the
world’s most influential nature photographers) will grace the festival as board
of judges and seminar speakers.
Divers can sign up and book their local travel
arrangements for this international UW shootout at phdiveteam@gmail.com. Interested divers
can also register at https://www.regonline.com/anilaounderwateruwphotocompetitionfestival or visit the
event facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Anilaouwphotocompetitionbydot. PDOT partner
resorts in Anilao are also offering special dive promo packages of as low as
US$499 for a 4 nights/5 days dive package inclusive of 6 boat dives, fullboard
meals, accommodation (twin sharing arrangement), air tanks and dive master.
All the
participating divers will surely say “It’s More Fun in the Philippines ” with the opportunity to win
fantastic prizes from local sponsors during the awarding ceremony on December 8
at seven o’clock in the evening at Acacia Resort and Dive Center
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