Tourism Undersecretary for Promotions Daniel Corpuz said the department will launch the second phase of its branding campaign by October this year that promotes tourism destinations across the country using the traditional media, television, print and radio, as well as the Internet.
The branding campaign project, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” was launched in January this year with a half-a-million budget on top of the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) P1.9-billion budget for 2012.
The project aims to lure foreign and local tourists to explore tourism destinations in the country. The campaign initially focused on non-traditional media platforms, such as social media.
The department seeks to increase foreign tourism arrivals from the current 4.8 million to 6 million by 2016.
In an interview, Corpuz expressed hopes that Congress will grant the budgetary request for the global campaign promotions.
He said the initial success of the branding campaign should be pushed through at the global level, “but will require huge funds on top of the usual tourism promotions.”
Corpuz led the launch on Tuesday of the “Icons of Greatness —It’s More Fun in the Philippines” program to engage the Filipino youth in search for heroes and appreciation of events through a tour itinerary-making and poster-making competition.
He also said the tourism department is actively pushing for the improvement of existing airports and establishing of more international airports that will give ease of travel to major tourism destinations in the country.
Among the projects in the pipeline are the expansion of existing airports in Puerto Princesa, as well as the establishment of airports in Laguindingan, which will replace Lumbia airport in Cagayan de Oro; Panglao airport, which will replace the existing Tagbilaran airport; and Daraga airport to replace Legazpi airport in Bicol.
“Our priority is to improve accessibility to various tourism destinations through building and expansion of international and domestic airports,” said Corpuz.
He stressed that it would be futile to lure more foreign tourists to visit the country without improving airports.
“If we don’t have airports, we cannot accommodate them [foreign tourists]. All these programs are part of the tourism convergence programs,” said Corpuz.
He added: “We envision a robust tourism industry as it impacts most sectors of the economy. We need to be aggressively promote our country to compete to other world-class destinations.” (With report from Imelda Abaño)
By Estrella Torres, BusinessMirror
Posted at 08/29/2012 9:31 AM | Updated as of 08/29/2012 2:17 PM
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The article above is a recent news about the tourism department needing more funds for the "It's More Fun In PH" Campaign. It's all very smart and inviting, really. Of all the campaigns of the DOT, I think this campaign has made the most impact not just on the Filipinos inside and outside the country but to many foreigners around the world. My main concern, however, is not so much on the tourism of the country but in the sense of priority of all the authorities in the government and different departments in the Philippines. This article just proves how our country is focusing on the irrelevant issues of our society instead on the very crucial ones.
I mean, 1.2 Billion pesos for a tourism campaign? How about them?
Or this kid?
Or this community?
Don't they deserve a portion of the 1.2 Billion pesos more than the tourism of the country? How will it be MORE FUN in the Philippines if its own people are experiencing pain and suffering through poverty? It is important to endorse the Philippines for tourists, yes. But I think is more important for us to fix the internal problem before we seek external recognition.
How, then, can we be proud of our own country if we, Filipinos, can't take pride of what's in it just because of unresolved issues like poverty? There is a saying that "No one is going to love you if you don't yourself". I think that is very true for every person, society, organization, or community. Our dear country is facing so many problems, and many of those are never ending. Why? My guess is it's because we don't know what to prioritize first. We try to keep up with first-world countries thinking, "Maybe if we do what they do, we can prosper like them too". But no, it is not that easy. Those countries have gone through so much before they became what they are today. Our country will have to go through so many trials and problems, too. That is why, we don't need to follow what the other countries our doing now. Instead, we should analyze what is the root cause of the problem and eliminate it. I know it's not that easy. But perhaps, knowing what to prioritize will be a stepping stone to success.
