by Xinhua writers Yan Jie, Liu Kai
MANILA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) — After more than a year in the doldrums, tourism in the coastal Mabini town, known as the “birthplace” of scuba diving in the Philippines, is enjoying a rebound with visitors returning to see the beautiful seaside scenery and explore rich species underwater.
“Thankfully, the pandemic is being handled well, and the cases are in a downward trend. As you can see, tourists are pouring into Mabini nowadays,” Florian Bueno, Mabini municipal tourism officer, told Xinhua.
Famous for crystal clear azure water, Mabini, a resort town of some 70,000 inhabitants located in Batangas province, south of capital Manila, is a favorite weekend destination for foreign and domestic tourists.
Before the pandemic struck, Mabini had been attracting over 500,000 tourists annually, of which about 30 percent comes from abroad, mostly from Asia and Europe. The tourism sector significantly contributes to the economy of Mabini, helping to provide…