It was a sea accident in 1979 that eventually led to the opening
of Palawan into tourism big time. As the story goes, a tuna line
disabled a dive boat's propeller in the middle of the night forcing
it to drop anchor in an inlet. The following morning, the divers
woke up to an amazing scenery of sky scraping dark cliffs, thick
green forest, white-sand beach, sparkling water and, rising above
it, a series of magnificently sculpted jade islands. And thus was
the beauty of El Nido was discovered by the rest of the world,
although all El Nido locals have always been aware of
the beauty of their town.
thriving economic sector.
Major tourism commenced in El Nido in 1983 when Ten Knots
Philippines, Inc, a Filipino - Japanese joint venture
company, opened a divers’ resort on Miniloc Island and an
airstrip (Lio airport) at Villa Libertad on the mainland to
provide access to the area. Due to its marvellous landscape,
its crystal-clear waters and the establishment of tourist and
air transport facilities, El Nido quickly became a prime tourist
destination. In 1992, the company set up a second resort on
Pangulasian Island, and in 1998, the third and largest Ten
Knots resort on Langen Island. The opening of the third resort
coincided with the destruction of the Pangulasian Resort by
fire. During this period several other tourism establishments
were developed, paving the way for tourism.