Tourism to Survive

Davao Oriental is the place where one can really say that nature is very abundant. In all parts of the sea and the land, you can really think that this region is blessed with so many gifts from nature. They have the UNESCO world heritage site Mt. Hamiguitan Wildlife Sanctuary, the beautiful and big waves in Mati, and the Aliwagwag Falls which is one of the top-visited falls in the country. They also produce large amounts of rice and are rich in trees and sturdy logs.

Most of their livelihood comes from these natural resources. The people of Governor Generoso for example live off of fresh catch from the sea. They don’t have trouble looking for their next meal because they can easily go fishing in the Davao Gulf where big fishes are found like tuna. The people of Banay-banay are abundant in rice. It’s where the Banay-Banay rice variety comes from. So you might be thinking, what are the other things that make them survive. The answer is tourism.

When the COVID pandemic broke out in January, Davao Oriental was one of the few regions in the Philippines that took extra care in handling the crisis. They immediately closed their doors from tourists to maintain zero to low transmission cases. They can be considered successful in this effort because it’s only in the late parts of the crisis that local transmissions were recorded, and it only happened when they reopened their tourism sites. 

It’s a tough decision for their government but they had to reopen their sites because it’s a main source of living for the people. Aside from Mati which is their most famous tourism site, there are also beach resorts near mati city which are now booming. Considered one of the top 3 beaches in Davao Oriental, there’s Camp Bernardino de Lavigan which only opened its doors a few weeks ago. It’s an added tourism value to the region because of its pristine and beautiful beaches. It also has abundant seafood and is near the famous Cape San Agustin lighthouse. Truly, Davao Oriental’s tourism is unstoppable because of these new developments. To know how to get to Camp Bernardino de Lavigan, you can check out their Facebook page and see other tourism sites nearby to make your visit complete.