In Anilao I usually expect to pay around ~P2000 for 3 dives, lunch, DM, and boat. That comes out to around ~P670 per dive. Subic can be as cheap as P750 / dive but I have yet to go there and some can argue that it is easier to get to than Anilao. Puerto Galera can be as low as P900 / dive. The same rate can be gotten in Bohol.the problem with anilao is the lack of a nice sandy beach. tourist who travel halfway around the world do not want to stay at the resort for a week doing nothing but diving, eating, sleeping and drinking. they would want to walk on the beach and eat at the small nice italian restaurant, drink at some girly bar, watch the sunset in med style coffee house. anilao cannot offer this because there is no nice beach to lounge and laze around and watch the sunset. at best what could probably be developed is the area along the main road or the small stretch of rocky beach in the solana el pinoy area. girly bars, italian restaurants, coffee shops, is what is needed for tourist to stay longer.
80% of anilao divers are manila based and majority of them are filipinos. for an operator to make decent profit from diving operations they will have to charge P1,000 at the minimum. If resorts charge this fixed, that would mean paying significantly less if a diver is alone but significantly higher if there are 7 people on the boat compared to how charging is being done now. How many manila based divers are willing to pay P1,000 per dive even if there are 7 people on the boat? I'm sure everyone is willing to pay P1,000 if they are diving alone
The anilao charging is beneficial to the thrifty manila based divers because it lowers cost. Fix charging is good for consistency and simplicity for foreign and single guest but at P1,000 minimum per dive even with a boat full, will that be ok with 80% of the anilao clientele?
This goes back to the previous point made about why is it that much more expensive in Anilao if it changes to a fix rate? Is it the lack of international tourism? It certainly can't be the white sand, or thriving night life area. Assuming that it is international tourism, then fixed pricing might be better in the long run (assuming that it will lead to increased tourism), since the fixed rates may be driven down with the increase in tourism and competition.
