The economic case for responsible marine tourism
Healthy coral reefs in the Coral Triangle are among the most biodiverse environments on this planet and provide vital ecosystem services. Besides supplying food and jobs, protecting coastlines and acting as nursery grounds for commercially important species, they are also important for recreation and tourism. There are hundreds of world-class recreational SCUBA dive sites in the Coral Triangle, and new ones are made accessible for tourism every year.
Tourist spending on coastal and marine-based eco-tourism in the Coral Triangle increases each year, suggesting that the economic extent of habitat and wildlife conservation is progressively more important for the national and local economies of the member countries. In the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, nature-based adventure tourism is already a crucial part of national income and helps to diversify local economies away from traditional manufacturing and exploitation of natural resources. In Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, tourism in general is still relatively less developed but holds enormous potential. There is a strong economic case for private enterprises and governments to invest in responsible tourism, which in return has the prospect of being a major contributor to public awareness and of helping to support conservation if it is managed well.
In order to have exciting wildlife encounters with flagship marine species, an increasing number of tourists are visiting marine protected areas to dive and snorkel. This growth can impose additional challenges on local governments that are already stretched for resources. They often struggle to ensure that developments for visitors are built and operated sustainably, to manage increased waste production, to provide sufficient water and energy, and to manage potential social conflict caused by importing non-local labour. Visitors can also disturb the natural behaviour of wildlife through their presence and through noise and light pollution.
Some Coral Triangle governments have introduced measures to counter these consequences by setting daily visitor quotas for marine parks or investing in essential support infrastructure. Various non-profit organisations have developed tools to help the tourism industry operate more sustainably, providing guidelines and support for non-intrusive interaction with wildlife, sustainable food and beverage sourcing, waste disposal and reduced energy consumption.
Even though marine tourism can be well managed at a regional level, climate change may still be the single largest threat to a prospering marine tourism industry in the Coral Triangle. Divers and snorkellers pay to experience scenic, intact and diverse habitats and to encounter wildlife. Sea level rise and storms of increasing strength and frequency have already made a notable impact on thousands of low-lying islands, coastal regions and reefs. Coastal erosion leads to siltation of reefs and destroys nesting habitat for sea turtles. Coral disease and bleaching events result in greater coral mortality, less coral cover and ultimately a decrease in biodiversity.
One lifetime is unfortunately not long enough to explore all the interesting scuba diving opportunities the Coral Triangle has to offer, but at least I try. — Eric Madeja, explorer & conservation photographer
Ten top scuba diving destinations in the Coral Triangle
1. Kimbe Bay, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea
You will have pristine reefs all to yourself when visiting this stunning dive location. The reefs are teeming with life and hold healthy populations of just about any tropical reef fish family you can think of. Reef sharks patrol the seamounts rising from deep water, and with a bit of luck you will encounter all kinds of pelagics, including mantas, dolphins and orcas. Some of the fringing reefs also provide opportunities for macro photography.
2. Marovo Lagoon, New Georgia Islands, Solomon Islands
One of the places that should be on every passionate warm-water diver's list. The topside scenery is as beautiful as it gets, especially when flying low over the countless islands and reefs of this massive lagoon, one of the longest in the world. Below the surface you will encounter reef sharks on nearly every dive; eagle rays and mobulas are commonly spotted cruising the reef slopes, with schools of mackerel and fusiliers adding to the commotion. These pristine reefscapes feature massive gorgonians and offer beautiful moments for the wide-angle photographer.
3. Komodo National Park, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
Komodo is a long-time favourite for divers visiting the Coral Triangle, even though the park's most famous inhabitants are terrestrial reptiles. It offers a bit of everything: action-packed high-speed current drift dives with giant trevallies and reef sharks, manta ray aggregations, and calm bays with a wide range of colourful nudibranchs and other critters. The topside scenery is spectacular, with the dry forests of eastern Indonesia that sit oddly against most perceptions of Indonesian rainforest.
4. Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Palawan, Philippines
These two very remote atolls in the middle of the Sulu Sea are accessible to recreational divers for only four months of the year. Park rangers guard the reefs during the off season, giving them time to thrive without direct human impact. The reefs were once heavily exploited and damaged, but protection began 25 years ago and is showing impressive results today. There are plenty of sea turtles and outstanding fish life, including a healthy population of humphead wrasse. Dolphins, manta rays and reef sharks are commonly seen, as are large schools of jacks and chevron barracuda; with luck and abundant plankton, whale sharks too.
5. Nino Konis Santana National Park, Timor-Leste
The first and largest marine park in the relatively new country of Timor-Leste. There are some incredibly beautiful hard coral reefs here, very rarely visited by tourists because of a lack of infrastructure. The park's fish population is plentiful and thriving, which unfortunately also makes it a target for poachers from neighbouring Indonesia. Large schools of barracuda, fusiliers, snappers, sweetlips and surgeonfish are omnipresent. The channel between Jako Island and the mainland holds a very large aggregation of garden eels, and reef sharks are encountered here. Migrating cetaceans are often spotted passing through the park.
6. Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea
Another must-visit in Papua New Guinea, with a variety of environments from mandarin fish muck diving to steep drop-offs with possible hammerhead encounters. Coral pinnacles ablaze with fish life and schools of baitfish will challenge the most accomplished underwater wide-angle photographer. In the macro category you can find special gobies, seahorses and a huge array of rarely seen nudibranchs. The topside scenery is stunning, from mountains and rainforest to deserted islands with white sand beaches, and the locals are very friendly.
7. Raja Ampat Marine Park, West Papua, Indonesia
This marine park in the Indonesian part of New Guinea is visited by a growing number of liveaboards. Diving is spectacular and features everything from manta ray cleaning stations to sandy muck dive sites. Fish abundance is outstanding, sometimes to the point of overwhelming photographers. Over the past decade Raja Ampat has made headlines as marine scientists discovered a number of previously unknown fish species; some call the area the epicentre of fish diversity. The park is dominated by rocky limestone islands covered with lush rainforest right down to the water's edge. More on Raja Ampat →
8. Sipadan Island Park, Sabah, Malaysia
Diving the steep drop-offs surrounding the small island of Sipadan is an experience not quickly forgotten. Even though dive operations in the park are regulated by a daily quota, it is common to see other groups in the water. That does not diminish the fact that there is hardly any other dive location where certain marine life is almost guaranteed on a single dive: huge schools of chevron barracuda, jackfish and bumphead parrotfish, together with reef sharks and an unusually large number of sea turtles. Spend a few more dives and you will most likely see dogtooth tuna and perhaps a hammerhead.
9. Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia
One of the best places in the world to find and observe unusual critters. Underwater photographers flock to the dive sites along the dark sandy shores of the Lembeh Strait in search of the strange, and are often rewarded with wonderpus, hairy frogfish, flamboyant cuttlefish and bobbit worms. If you have an interest in marine life behaviour, diving Lembeh never gets boring, and shallow two-hour dives are frequent. The main drawback is the proximity to the city of Bitung, which at times leaves the dive sites littered with rubbish.
10. Anilao, Batangas, Philippines
Only three hours from metropolitan Manila, Anilao and the Verde Island Passage have become very popular with local divers, especially at weekends. The area features pretty coral reefs but has made its name as one of the best muck and critter diving locations in the Coral Triangle. It is not uncommon to see as many as six different octopus species on a single dive, and clown frogfish, harlequin ghost pipefish, flying gurnard and seahorses are seen on almost every dive. The Verde Island Passage is also very rich in reef fish and claims to be one of the hotspots for fish diversity in the Coral Triangle.
Practical notes for visitors
Choosing an operator matters more here than in most destinations. Look for permanent moorings rather than anchoring, briefings that cover buoyancy and contact with the reef, respect for wildlife interaction distances, on-site waste and wastewater handling, and local employment beyond entry-level roles. Marine park fees are not an inconvenience but the mechanism that pays rangers and fuels patrol boats, and they are the clearest link between a visitor's spending and the protection of the site.
Travel across the region is logistically demanding. Trips frequently combine several countries and several remote provinces, and coverage for mobile data and voice thins out quickly outside the main islands. Most travellers now handle this with a regional or per-country eSIM arranged before departure, backed by satellite messaging on genuinely remote itineraries and offline maps and dive planning as a matter of routine. A plan that covers Jakarta or Manila is not necessarily a plan that covers Raja Ampat or Marovo Lagoon, and that is worth checking before you fly.
Where to go next
Tourism is one of several economic forces shaping the region. Return to the coraltriangle.org homepage for the full overview, including conservation finance, coastal development and connectivity.