The news spread like wildfire on Twitter last Wednesday evening. Soon enough many sites I’ve been following buzzed and confirmed that today, January 6, the Department of Tourism will finally launch the much awaited new tourism campaign for the Philippines. And so for the next two days, it became a trending topic. Suggestions were shared, hints were given, guessing game of the new slogan ensued, and the excitement escalated.
I also jumped on the bandwagon and started tweeting about
the upcoming event. I could not even explain the enthusiasm I felt for the past two
days. There was like an air of “bayanihan” wherein everyone was trying to lend a hand to help lift Philippine tourism to higher grounds. Finally, we are moving on together,
hand in hand. And that made me feel extremely happy.
When it was announced that Mon Jimenez will take the helm of
the country’s ailing tourism industry, everyone’s expectations soared
high. In one of his interviews, he said that selling the Philippines to tourists "should be as easy to sell as chickenjoy.” He said that our country
has all the potentials of attracting foreign tourists. We just need a good
marketing strategy. Being a person
highly esteemed in the advertising industry, the government thinks that he could share his expertise on this matter, and is the right person to do the fix.
And so today, he unveiled the new slogan: It’s more fun
in the Philippines!
So, what do I think about it?
I actually like it.. hmm no, I Love It! I think it's fun, simple, catchy and has a whole lot of truth to it! It captures the sentiments of many Filipinos living here and abroad. It will make tourists
want to go to our beaches, explore our caves, experience our festivities, dig
on our food, etcetera ... all because it's more fun doing these things here! ! :)
Overall, I say KUDOS to the tourism team for the great concept.
But as we all know, attracting foreigners to spend their
hard-earned money in our country does not end in logos, slogans and jingles. We
need to make sure that these tourists enjoy every moment of their stay
here. We need to make a positive impression enough to either make them want to return
in the future or invite their relatives and friends in their home country to
come visit us. Now, it's time to prove that indeed it's more fun to choose our country.