Philippines - Fun and quality

The Philippines, considered as Asia’s tourism laggard, recently launched the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” brand-slash-tourism campaign in a bid to get a bigger share of the Asian tourism pie. 

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. announced the back-to-back brand in a news conference.  “It’s more fun in the Philippines” is intended for foreign visitors while “#1 for fun Philippines” is geared toward the domestic market.

As expected, netizens immediately poked fun  by highlighting the reasons tourists are not coming, for instance, poor infrastructure, red tape, corrupt law enforcers, poor peace and order and the country’s overall lack of basic and clean facilities that would help make first-time visitors feel at home.

Internet commentators think the core issue is not branding or finding a catchy phrase to lure foreigners, but the lack of basic services, terror threats and the general inefficiency of government offices.

The response of some tourism stakeholders about the latest Philippine brand was rather polite.  Although they prefer the “WoW Philippines” slogan of the previous administration, many travel executives were making an effort  to rally behind the latest DOT initiative.  To do otherwise would amount to useless bickering and further dissipate our efforts to make a dent in the highly competitive tourism trade.

Indeed, it would be unfair not to give Jimenez a chance to implement his programs.  The goal is to bring in 4.2 million foreign visitors at the end of 2012, from only 3.7 million last year, and 10 million by 2016.  I heard a DOT official announce that the government’s short-term target is to draw in foreign tourists on a shoestring budget by providing them easy access to our scenic spots in the hope that they would  spend $100 pax per day, or $20 more than their usual expenditure.

National Association of Independent Travel Association (Naitas) chairman and founder Bobby Joseph suggested that Cebu could promote its own unique identity around a separate brand.  The travel executive aired this during the 888 Forum last Tuesday in the middle of comic reactions over the latest tourism brand.

Perhaps, he believes two million local and foreign visitors a year could be just in the Cebu corner if stakeholders could draw up a snazzy slogan.  Some 1.3 million local and foreign tourists visited the Queen City of the South last year.

Why are tourists coming to Cebu?

There are many factors, but if we reckon with monthly tourist arrivals, the biggest draw happens this month.  It is related to our culture, which is deeply rooted in the Catholic faith.

The feast of the Señor Sto. Niño takes place this Sunday and Cebu City is practically bursting at the seams  welcoming local and foreign visitors, not to mention devotees around the province who made it their pledge to attend the nine-day novenario in the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.

The  Pilgrim Center in the basilica grounds is always full  with people, many of them spilling out into the streets.  While Masses are held from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., the civic and commercial side of the festivity goes non-stop.  The Health Department and the Philippine National Police have to issue advisories to lessen the hassle for pilgrims and revelers.  These activities give us an idea about the traffic volume of local and foreign tourists who  come to Cebu City every January.

This is not to mock the new DOT slogan, but one of the things that could be said about it is that it does not quite capture the forces or subtleties that are at work in one of the country’s biggest tourist destinations. 

Sure, Cebu’s beaches, five-star hotels and restaurants, native cuisine, heritage sites and cultural treats are nice, but even the most jaded visitor will always look at the direction of the Basilica del Santo Niño to get a glimpse of a tradition that, shared by more than 90 million Filipino Christians, stands out for its sheer devoutness and faithfulness.  In that sense, Joseph’s suggestion deserves a second look.

Happy fiesta! Pit Señor, one and all!

Malou Guanzon-Apalisok

Cebu Daily News

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