UNFAZED by the cut in major tourism activities owing to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) concerns, the Department of Tourism (DOT) will continue to promote the Philippines abroad.
“In spite of the Covid-19 outbreak, we need to keep the Philippines top of mind in our key markets, so when they finally make the decision to take their vacations, they will still choose us,” underscored Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat in a message to the BusinessMirror.
The DOT just launched a new ad where culture buffs around the world can learn the ABCs of Philippine culture. In just a minute, the ABaKaDa music video is able to talk about 20 unique cultural facts about the Philippines represented by each letter of the Philippine alphabet. It starts with “A” for abaca accessories that many can admire for its beauty and sustainability, then “Ba” is for barefoot bounding while dancing the Tinikling. “Ka” is for Kinetic kali combat, showing the country’s national martial arts, and so on. (View the ad at https://bit.ly/3cl4yvq)
The ABaKaDa song lyrics, written in collaboration with and sang by Curtismith, also highlights oratories of Filipinos, polo and prints using pineapple fabrics, rondallas rhythm and river rafting, street dancing, tribal tattoos, the underground caves, and the wild and warm welcome of the locals, immersing tourists to the exceptional Filipino hospitality.
During the launch of the new ad last February 27, Tourism Assistant Secretary for Branding and Marketing Howard Lance A. Uyking said, “After an amazing 2019, there’s no time to rest on our laurels—there’s always something brewing at the DOT—whether they’re new advertisements or digital innovations—so we can keep visitors and locals alike interested in what the Philippines has to offer.”
Last year, foreign visitor arrivals reached 8.26 million, slightly breaching the DOT’s 8.2-million arrivals goal.
Sustaining the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign, the ABaKaDa culture video is only one of the 10 tourism campaign videos of the DOT focusing on Philippine tourism products, said UyKing. The remaining videos focus will focus on sun and beach, nature and adventure, leisure and entertainment, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions), culinary, education (English as a Second Language), cruise, health and wellness, and dive. These promotion videos target global tourists to further boost inbound tourism, he added.
The DOT is also working on immersing tourists in the stories of every region. Sixteen tourism videos will highlight destinations of the regions, “inviting everybody to be part of a greater year while ensuring every experience to truly be part of the culture,” he said.
The DOT had to postpone its nationwide shopping festival which was supposed to have been for the entire month of March, as more Covid-19 cases around the world were recorded. The 2020 Philippines Shopping Festival was being promoted to South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and balikbayans (homecoming Filipinos).
ITB Berlin
Through its marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board, the DOT was also supposed to lead a 28-man delegation to the International Tourismus Borse (ITB) Berlin, one of the world’s largest travel trade fairs which private tourism stakeholders make their mark with European buyers. The event, scheduled for March 4 to 8, was canceled due to the inability of the organizer to comply with the strict health requirements of local health authorities in Berlin.
Despite the Covid-19 worries, the DOT has lined up a series of projects and programs to further boost foreign arrivals in the country.
For one, Uyking said the DOT will be ramping up its nationwide accreditation efforts to help tourism stakeholders become globally competitive in its facilities services. The agency has also partnered with the Film Development Council of the Philippines to promote the country in the international film community. Dubbed “Film Philippines,” the program will provide incentives to attract film abroad producers to shoot their films in the country.
Filipino creative minds can also join the “Go Create Getaway,” a new crowdsourcing campaign this summer, inviting tourists to become content creators and vloggers. It will be a competition to win exciting prizes, according to Uyking.
The DOT targets to attract 9.2 million foreign arrivals and P661 billion in inbound tourism revenues this year.
Image credits: DOT