Chen Reyes-Mencias

Chen Reyes-Mencias is an Environmental Planner in the Philippines who specializes on sustainable tourism planning and ecotourism enterprise development. She authored several planning tools that had been designed to help clients and community partners come up with tourism plans that are pragmatic and implementable.

Chen advocates responsible travel, and supports community-based initiatives. She believes that inclusive growth can truly occur when marginalized sectors of a tourism destination are taken on board as active participants in the growth of a local tourism industry. She also conceptualized Ecotourism Philippines, a brand carried by several rural communities in outstanding natural locations in different parts of the Philippines.

She is a retired SCUBA diving instructor who had been involved in marine conservation projects for many years. Reader’s Digest Asia and Australia presented Chen the Hero for Today title for her deep involvement in marine environmental conservation work. She is also the recipient of the Environmental Enhancement Award given by the International Underwater Foundation.