Study cites ways to boost PPUR tourism potentials

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines – There’s still more room to enhance the potentials of the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) as a tourist destination, according to government study.

For one, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, whose main attraction is the 8.4-kilometer PPUR that flows directly into the sea, can hold about 1,400 tourists a day if it is managed properly.

The park, considered one of the country’s important protected areas situated 76 kilometers northeast of Puerto Princesa City, used to be visited by only about 145 people a day.

Following the PPUR’s proclamation as one of the world’s New Seven Wonders of Nature, the number of local and foreign visitors has considerably increased to about 900 per day.

By 2020, it is expected to have more than 2,100 visitors a day, as projected by a research team of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB).

Headed by director Marcial Amaro Jr., the ERDB is DENR’s research arm based at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

The ERDB study, titled “Tourism Capacity Carrying of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park,” was funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development.

The study was done to determine the park’s carrying capacity, or the allowable number of visitors and corresponding activities that the place could accommodate without harming its natural beauty and ecological integrity.

The researchers were Alicia Calderon (project leader), Lope Calanog, Ma. Lourdes Reyes, Pedro Atega, Lorlina Calderon, Salvacion Orobia, Juanito Sapin, and Rafael Sibal.

The PPUR, according to the researchers, is expected to attract five times more tourists in the next 11 years.

To boost the influx of tourists visiting the park, the researchers recommended the following measures: beefing up anchorage in the place to accommodate more boats; re-evaluate boat capacity (from eight to 20 people per boat so it can carry more visitors in one cruise into the underground river); increasing the number of tour guides; and improving the size and number of tourist facilities.

Recreational activities, “monkey tours,” and paddle boating should be also provided, so visitors would not get restless while waiting for their turn to tour the subterranean river, the researchers also suggested.

Moreover, they said there should be a video presentation to orient visitors on the do’s and don’ts in the park, particularly in the PPUR.