The end of a beauty queen’s reign doesn’t necessarily mean she should stop advocating for causes she’s passionate about.
Take it from Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Bea Gomez, who, instead of slowing down after making it to the Top 5 of that year’s Miss Universe pageant, decided to embrace more advocacies.
Aside from pushing for youth empowerment through sports, amplifying efforts for HIV and Aids awareness and actively participating in medical mission work by serving underprivileged dental patients across the country, Bea recently added one more advocacy to the list: promoting ethical tourism in Pintuyan, Southern Leyte, particularly the town’s whale shark interaction activity.
When Bea first visited the town for a coastal cleanup activity in March this year, little did she know she would also have her first close encounter with Pintuyan’s gentle giants, which the locals call “tiki-tiki.”
She soon found out that the whale shark activity is done differently in Pintuyan, part of Panaon Island, which was recently declared a protected seascape by virtue of Republic Act 12238.
“The whale sharks do not settle in one place for tourists. Rather, the tourists are gifted with an opportunity to be graced by their presence. Once a whale shark spotter tells you to jump, it is only a matter of seconds before you miss the chance to see them. You have to swim as fast as the whale sharks do if you want to see them up close while following interaction protocols,” shared Bea in a Facebook post.
Tourists are also advised not to feed the whale sharks and instead wait for them to come out of the waters.
Of Bea’s new role as the face of Pintuyan’s ethical tourism campaign, consultant and environmental advocate Boboi Costas said that the beauty queen and the advocacy are a great fit.
“She was chosen because of her work as a volunteer of the Philippine Navy, as well as her love for scuba,” he added.
Although it may appear small compared to other municipalities, the income that the town gets from the whale shark interaction has been a huge help to Pintuyan.
According to Pintuyan Mayor Ricarte Estrella, the Municipality only charges P300 per visitor who engages in the whale shark activity, but every visit also brings with it a positive ripple effect on the town’s economy: guides, boatmen, spotters, transportation providers and owners of eateries and pension houses get their share of the income, too.
The whale shark season, which runs from October to May, accounts for almost P3 million in municipal income. The town hopes to attract more local and international tourists who prefer the ethical way of interacting with the tiki-tiki.
Estrella acknowledged the big economic gains whale shark tourism has brought to the town of Oslob in Cebu. But after he and other officials visited the site and observed the whale-watching activity for benchmarking, they decided to continue their practice of not “provisioning” or intentionally feeding the gentle giants of Pintuyan.
On June 1, the town officially closed its whale shark season. But what remains is the Pintuyanons’ open invitation to everyone who wants to explore Pintuyan’s other attractions, such as its mountain resort and falls, as they wait for the whale sharks’ return.