El Nido, Palawan has a total land cover of 92,000 hectares with 45 islands, 2,645 hecatares of mangrove forest, 447 species of corals, 888 species of fish, 5 species of marine turtles and 114 species of birds. With such a wide spread area there should be a big fund to support and protect them. That’s where the Eco-Tourism Development Fee (ETDF) comes.
The collection of the ETDF is a way to maintain a sustainable protection program of El Nido’s natural resources from the high impact of tourism on the environment.
During my trip to El Nido I saw several travellers complaining when they were being collected with the ETDF. Most of the travellers that come to El Nido does not know of the ETDF.
How much should is the ETDF?
| 200 Pesos/person | Non-Palawan residents | Valid for 10 days |
| 500 Pesos/person | Non-Palawan residents | Valid for more than 10 days |
| 100 Pesos/person | Palawan residents | Valid for 10 days |
| 50 Pesos/person | Palawan students | Valid for 10 days |
Where does the ETDF go?
| 10% | Protected Area Office |
| 50% | Environmental and Tourism Projects |
| 10% | Barangay Eco-Tourism Projects |
| 20% | Implementation Costs |
| 10% | General fund of the Municipal Government |
| 100% | TOTAL |
Want to more on how to protect El Nido?
Watch this 5-minute video
Visit the sites elnidotourism.com and elnidofoundation.org
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[sam id=17 codes=’false’]
i consider myself a palawan local.
confession: i dont pay ETDF, i just do my share of conserving the environment like cleaning the beach or picking up trash.
palagi kasi akong wary sa mga fee, i always think that people in the govt use this to do corruption etc. i just hope not.
how is this enforced? i recall booking my tour and they never gave me this receipt. Yes they did mention about it.
I think more business and tourist would be happy to support The ETDF if there were a bit of transparency with the funds. OR, perhaps if more tourist inquired WHERE THE FUNDS ACTUALLY GO, maybe there would be more transparency with the funds.
I encourage you to investigate where the money actually goes on your next visit.
Thanks for this informative article. Environmental fee is indeed a valuable ressource for funding the protection of the environment, even if it’s sometimes complained about by the tourists. But this is for the sake of preserving what makes El Nido a unique place!
Thank you for sharing the video, I will share it also!
Exactly.