THE heart of every Juan, to the world.
Major Philippine carriers have expressed support to the Department of Tourism (DOT) in pushing the message of “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” to its markets abroad.
In a text message to the BusinessMirror, Tourism Secretary-designate Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat said the country’s two major flag carriers—Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Air Inc. (CEB)—have agreed to help carry a “unifying theme” in their advertisements here and abroad, by using the country’s brand campaign.
“I asked if they could make commercials showing the country. They both have great ads. I just need them to carry the same the ending—It’s More Fun in the Philippines—to show there is a unifying theme,” she said. The DOT chief said representatives of the carriers who paid separate courtesy calls on her on May 25, were receptive to the idea.
The PAL contingent was led by PAL Holdings President and COO, Jaime J. Bautista Jr., while CEB’s party was led by JG Summit Holdings Inc. CEO Lance Gokongwei.
Various sources who were present in the separate meetings with the local airline officials added that PAL and CEB “will be spending for the ads.”
The DOT has been hard-pressed to promote the Philippines abroad because of its minimal budget, compared to others in Asia, which some tourism industry observers believe is one of the reasons the country’s visitor arrivals still lag behind its neighbors.
Sources said CEB has decided to take its support for the DOT one step further by proposing a project that would “teach sustainable tourism” to Filipinos. “Being the largest domestic carrier in the country, Cebu Pacific wants to help educate Filipinos to be responsible tourists,” separate sources averred. “Sustainable tourism” is one of the key advocacies of Romulo Puyat, who has said there must be a balance between promoting tourism and protecting the environment and the heritage of local people. (See, “New DOT chief talks food, her favorite destinations and sustainable tourism,” in the BusinessMirror, Something Like Life, May 18, 2018.)
CEB officials are expected to return with a presentation to the tourism secretary in a week, the sources added. “It’s going to be a good campaign with [CEB]…sustainable tourism and responsible tourism,” the sources said, noting the enthusiasm of Romulo Puyat in undertaking the project with the carrier.
Other points CEB officials discussed with the new DOT chief was “how to boost inbound tourism,” including a “vibrant sharing on the rapidly growing Philippine aviation industry, its pain points and breakthroughs, as well as advocacies toward responsible tourism,” a DOT source underscored.
As for PAL, discussions revolved on “access, connectivity, infrastructure, markets and support to tourism,” the same DOT source added.
Acknowledging Romulo Puyat’s support for local agricultural and food products because of her previous connection with the Department of Agriculture, PAL officials pointed out that the airlines “offered Malagos cheese” from Davao, as well as Carmen’s Best Ice Cream, which was a favorite of Pope John Paul II when he flew on the carrier while visiting the Philippines, according to sources.
The DOT last year had an advertising budget of some P650 million, but only one ad was produced and aired—the iconic “Anak” ad—which was premiered during the Miss Universe beauty pageant held in Manila in January of that year. The following ad, “Sights” was pulled out after ranking DOT officials then realized it was copied from a similar tourism ad still being used by South Africa. (See, “DOT stops airing of McCann’s ‘Sights’ as unofficial tourism ad reaps praises,” in the BusinessMirror, June 16, 2017.)
Since that controversy, the DOT has not been able to produce new TV commercials for airing in its markets abroad. No bidding for new ads have been conducted since June last year.
While the Philippines slightly exceeded its 6.5 million foreign-visitors target in 2017, its neighbors have been hitting more than double our numbers. In Southeast Asia last year, the largest international tourist arrivals were recorded by Thailand, 35 million; Malaysia, 26 million; Vietnam, 13 million; Singapore, 12.9 million (2016); and Indonesia, 11.1 million (2016), according to the latest data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Barometer.
These countries landed in the top 40 countries, which received the most number of visitor arrivals in the world, while the Philippines numbered no. 46 among the top 50 countries, as per the UNWTO data.