Philippine Delegation Returns to Global Birdfair in the U.K. After 15-Year Hiatus

With the Philippines having more than 7,000 islands, it doesn't come as a surprise that our archipelago is home to a diverse flora and fauna. In fact, BirdLife International ranks our archipelago as the 55th country with the most number of bird species based on data from December 2023. So the Philippine contingent's return to the world's largest bird fair, the Global Birdfair, from July 12 to 14 in Lyndon Top, Rutland, United Kingdom, is a long-time coming after a 15-year hiatus.

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The Global Birdfair, formerly the British Birdwatching Fair, began in 1989. Exhibitors include conservation organizations, art and media, tour companies, outdoor brands, and nature tourism groups, while attendees are mostly birdwatchers, bird photographers, and enthusiasts from all over the world. It was in 2009 when the Philippines, as represented by the Department of Tourism and the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, first joined the fair. The debut was even more special when BirdLife International selected the critically endangered and endemic Cebu Flowerpecker as its flagship species for its campaign on avian conservation. The Cebu Flowerpecker is almost a holy grail among bird photographers hoping to take a photo of the ever-elusive species.

After 15 years, the Philippines returned to the birdfour through the participation of Bird Finder Philippines, the birding tour arm of Birds in Focus, Inc. Aside from promoting Philippine birdwatching, BIF also manages the Haring Ibon brand and its merchandise and publications. It also distributes bird-themed books from Spain and the U.K., the most popular of which is All the Birds of the World—a catalog of 11,524 bird species and features a photograph of the Great Philippines Eagle (by Alain Pascua) on its cover.

Bird Finder Philippines is among the over 300 exhibitors at the Global Birdfair, which attracted more than 15,000 visitors during the three-day event. This foot traffic is just what the Philippine delegate needed, which is even made more special through the booth design by Vinz Pascua, highlighting 20 Philippine endemic birds. Alain Pascua, Wild Bird Photographers of the Philippines co-founder and president, also gave a lecture on Philippine endemic birds and birding tours, making it known to more bird watchers all over the world just how diverse our avian species is. Bird Finder Philippines was also able to forge partnerships with international birding tour operators, like Birdfinders, Rockjumper, All4Birding, and 2by2 Holidays.

All these are part of the Philippines tourism industry's effort to promote birdwatching and wildlife photography to foreign visitors. This is seen as a sustainable tourism model that goes beyond the country's reputation as a tropical beach destination.