Oslob town posts P31-m in income from whale shark watching in 2022
A fisherman feeds a whale shark with krill in Oslob town, southern Cebu in this August 2018 photo.
CEBU CITY, Philippines – After three years of COVID-related restrictions, tourism activities in southern Cebu, particularly in Oslob town, are starting to get back on their feet.
The municipality of Oslob earned over P35.3 million from tourism activities in 2022, based on the local government’s Annual Audit Report from the Commission on Audit (COA).
It was a huge jump compared to the P3.4 million they posted as tourism-derived revenues in 2021 when the pandemic still forced everyone to stay in their homes.
Oslob, a fourth-class municipality located approximately 118 kilometers southeast of Cebu City, posted a revenue of at least P265 million in the previous year.
Revenues from tourism operations and activities are the third largest contributor to Oslob’s overall income. The largest was its Internal Allotment Revenue (IRA), or its share from the national government, at P149 million.
Revenues from tourism activities
Oslob’s whale shark watching remained the biggest contributor to the town’s revenues in terms of tourism for 2022.
Whale shark watching activities, where visitors watch and swim with the gentle giants in the waters around Brgy. Tan-awan, brought in a total of P31,028,100 in income for the locality.
While these figures indicate that whale shark watching, the town’s most popular tourism activity, may be bouncing back after the pandemic, it’s still way below to its pre-pandemic levels.
It can be recalled that in 2019, Oslob posted more than P120 million in revenue from whale shark-watching activities alone.
Aside from whale shark watching, boat trips and excursions to Sumilon Island, famous for its white-sand bar and diving spots around it, also raked in a total of close to P3.1 million.
Other income-generating eco-tourist spots in Oslob included the Tumalog Falls or Luka and monkey viewing.
/bmjo
RELATED STORIES
Whale sharks, Lapu-Lapu’s marine resources need protection: Create Bantay Dagat group
IN PHOTOS: Oslob’s whale shark watching under the ‘new normal’
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
