Love the Philippines
MANILA, Philippines—On the celebration of the golden 12 months of the Department of Tourism (DOT), President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., along with Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and other officials, led the disclosing of the country’s enhanced tourism campaign “Love the Philippines” because the highlight of the Department’s fiftieth founding 12 months celebration at the long-lasting Manila Hotel, Tuesday (June 27).
Proudly presenting “Love the Philippines” to a crowd composed of former DOT chiefs, officials and employees of the Department’s central and regional offices, heads of presidency agencies including Cabinet Secretaries, house representatives, tourism stakeholders, and the media, Secretary Frasco described the improved campaign as timely for the DOT’s golden anniversary celebration.
“As we cap the last fifty years of the DOT and welcome this recent era of tourism for the Philippines, it’s but right that we welcome this chance to reintroduce the Philippines to the world,” Secretary Frasco said.
“Love the Philippines goes to the very heart of each Filipino with the distinct grace and hospitality with which we welcome every guest to our shores, communities, and houses. Love the Philippines is a recognition of our natural assets, our long and storied history, our wealthy culture and variety,” she said, noting that there may be so far more to the country than “the fun and adventure” that has been articulated to date.
“The Philippines is a powerhouse of mega biodiversity, being only one in all 18 mega biodiverse countries on the planet, a deep well of culture and history, a profound burst and taste of flavor and gastronomy, a tapestry of indigenous peoples and inventive communities by whose work of their hands have safeguarded the dignity and integrity of the Filipino identity. That is who we’re. These complexities and nuances of the Philippines have yet to be fully articulated to the world, for indeed, the story of the Filipino has yet to be fully told, and we will tell that story by telling them the story of affection. Love the Philippines,” Secretary Frasco said.
PBBM’s unequivocal support
Gracing the milestone event for Philippine tourism, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. expressed his utmost support for “Love the Philippines”, saying that the improved tourism campaign “springs from the real love that you just, me, and all of us have for the Philippines.”
“And what higher strategy to express that love than by directly incorporating it into our country’s newest tourism campaign slogan, Love the Philippines. Today’s recent branding will function our guidepost for the Philippine tourism industry moving forward. Allow me then to specific my sincerest appreciation to Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and for the DOT team because except for the promotion of the country’s tourist destinations, the campaign that you could have conceptualized goals to reinforce the general experience of each travel, including in that list of targets is to advertise regional products, construct more infrastructure for the convenience of travel, and champion green movements, amongst others,” the President enthused.
Adjusting to the post-pandemic tourism landscape and changing trends
With the ever-changing global tourism landscape post-pandemic, and travelers’ growing desire for more immersive experiences of their travels, the DOT viewed the improved brand as a timely response to the demands of the industry.
In a recent survey conducted by the United Nations World Travel Organization (UNWTO) amongst its member countries, market repositioning and rebranding strategies are among the many priorities identified after the pandemic based on its Survey Findings on Member Priorities for UNWTO program of labor 2024-2025.
With an enhanced tourism campaign in tow, the DOT’s focus is to indicate more of what there may be to “Love the Philippines” as it really works towards realizing President Marcos Jr.’s vision for the country to turn out to be a tourism powerhouse in Asia.
“Indeed, if we’re to compete with our neighbors in our effort as well to partner with them for Asia to turn out to be a powerhouse tourism region on the planet, the time has come for us so as to add to the worth proposition of the Philippines by telling the world how far more now we have to supply,” Secretary Frasco said.
“We’ve multiple facets of tourism destinations that present a golden opportunity, for now we have only scratched the surface up to now,” she added.
Rosy prospects for Philippine tourism
Secretary Frasco states, “the world has noticed that there may be a lot to like concerning the Philippines.”
It’s because the Philippines recorded 2,641,993 visitors from January 1 to June 26, 2023, and is near breaching the two.65 million arrivals it recorded for 2022.
Further, the tourism sector is considered a stalwart regarding its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP). In accordance with the 2022 Philippine Tourism Satellite Accounts (PTSA) the Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA) share of the sector to the Philippine economy, as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was estimated at 6.2 percent and amounted to PHP 1.38 trillion in 2022.
The Philippines can also be seeing a lift in tourism-related enterprise employment, with 5.35 million estimated tourism employment last 12 months.
As she rallied their support for the DOT’s vision of showcasing the perfect of the Philippines to the world under the Marcos administration, the Secretary said: “As we usher on this golden era for tourism, for our fellow Filipinos, for our beautiful country, allow us to find it in our hearts to have that burning pride of place for the Philippines, to Love the Philippines, to usher us into the continued recovery and vigorous comeback of the Philippines to the world.”
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