SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri “loves” the new slogan of the Department of Tourism — “Love the Philippines” — but stressed the country can only attract more foreign tourists if the government improves transport terminals and infrastructures.
Speaking at the Kapihan sa Senado yesterday, Zubiri said the new tourism slogan sends a strong message but will go to naught without proper support from concerned government agencies.
“I love it. Personally, I would have been happy with the old slogan… It is alright, the message is clear and concise but ayusin nila ang imprastruktura (but they should fix our infrastructures). Tourism is a convergence of the Department of Tourism, Department of Transportation, and Department of Public Works and Highways…They should have one organization that always meets. They have to have convergence,” Zubiri said.
“It has nothing to do with the image. The image will improve if the services and facilities improve. It’s really the experience. Kapag palpak ang DOTr, DPWH, kahit maganda ang slogan ay hindi na sila babalik sa Pilipinas. Wala nang love doon (If the DOTr, DPWH are failures, foreign tourists will not come back to the country even if we have a good tourism slogan. Love will be lost with it,” he added.
Sen. Grace Poe, Committee on Public Service chair, said “catchy tourism slogans must not be thwarted by cringeworthy traveler’s experience.
“The Philippines has a lot to offer to become a world-class destination. We recognize the efforts of the DOT to inspire travelers to visit and relish in the country’s natural beauty and unique culture… We must start by improving services at our airports, which are not only the nation’s gateway but also the first and last impression a tourist gets of the Philippines,” Poe said.
Senate majority leader Joel Villanueva said he supports the DOT efforts to boost tourism but “we need to have a whole-of-government approach in tourism promotion.”
Villanueva said the government should focus on improving services concerning food and beverage, accommodation, transport, and shopping, which are the top inbound tourism expenditures based on a 2022 report from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
“In 2022, the tourism industry accounted for 11.4 percent of the country’s labor sector and contributed 6.2 percent to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The country is also slowly going back to our pre-pandemic numbers on the number of tourists coming to the country. Latest data from the DOT shows that as of May 2023, the country has recorded more than 2 million visitors,” Villanueva said.
“Thus, aside from the tourism campaign launched by the DOT, we also need to take measures to improve our transportation system, including our airports which are the gateways to the country,” he added.
The DOT earlier this week unveiled its new tourism slogan “Love the Philippines” during its 50th anniversary, replacing the slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” which has been in use since 2012.
