The Philippine island of Siquijor is located in the Visayas southeast of Cebu, away from the main tourist routes.
Siquijor is also known as the island "of witchcraft", where magicians and healers meet and local tourists would rather avoid to travel there. For international tourists, the island is a nearly untouched world class destination for scuba divers.
The aim of the mission was to analyze further and sustainable development potential, such as in the fields of local heritage, incl. the tradition of the healers and magicians or the largest Christian convent built from stone in the region, which dates back to the portugese times. Another potential was identified in the use of the rhich natural heritage such as a natural rainforest with numerous caves and underground rivers and streams with small waterfalls in the center of the island.

Corresponding tourist products should be developed, adjusted with local stakeholders from the public sector (communities and district administration) and tourism businnesses and agreed in a comprehensive tourism masterplan. The overall aim was to increase the length of stay and thus also the expenditures of tourists in order to increase income at local level. On the other hand, tourism should help to protect the natural and cultural resources of the island, including the unique aquatic ecosystems.

Within this consultancy mission, several development options and pilot activities for sustainable tourism development on the island of Siquijor were agreed with local stakeholders. However, it also became apparent that there was a risk of uncontrolled tourism development, which could be observed in the dynamic development of property prices in the coastal areas.