Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

In 2002, the Department of Tourism initiated one of its most successful tourism promotion project, Visit Philippines 2003, under Secretary Richard J. Gordon. The latest improvements in the tourism industry in the country came about with the passage of Republic Act No. 9593 or the "Tourism Act of 2009." The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) just launched its new promotional campaign for 2012 It's more fun in the Philippines. amid much fanfare and hype. But glitzy ad campaigns and slogans aside, now might not be the right time to promote tourism in the country. The Philippines is broken and we need to first fix it before we invite foreign tourists over. For starters: our major cities are dirtyin Metro Manila even the air is dirty; children begging in the streets are everywhere; traffic around the metropolis moves at a snails pace over potholed roads; and maniacal Filipino drivers cut in and out of traffic without so much as a scintilla of courtesy or discipline. So given where the Philippines stands today, the millions of dollars the government spends on tourism promotion will never generate the kind of returns it might otherwise produce were the Philippines not in the sorry state it is in. So maybe the country should save that money and concentrate instead on fixing its myriad problems first. . Philippines President Benigno Aquino III has joined the growing number of world leaders that are part of the UNWTO/WTTC Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign, aimed at rallying support for tourism at the highest level of government (Manila, Philippines, 28 February 2012).

Tourism is very important to the Philippines, said President Aquino, signaling in particular the attention given to road and air infrastructure in the country and the implementation of the Pocket Open Skies Policy. The policy eases restrictions on foreign airlines, allowing them to land in international airports around the Philippines and opening up the country to more foreign visitors. Presenting the President with an Open Letter on the importance of tourism to global growth and development, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, congratulated the country on its impressive tourism development, its active support of the open skies policies and the launch of its latest tourism promotion campaign Its More Fun in the Philippines. The Secretary of the Department of Tourism of the Philippines (DOT), Mr Ramon Jimenez Jr. said: Its More Fun in the Philippines focuses on the Filipino as your host. The Filipino, your host, takes it as his absolute personal responsibility and almost as a matter of honor that the tourists stay is in fact fun.

Statement of the Problem This study leads to answer the following questions: 1. What is the relationship between the Department of Tourism and tourism campaign? 2. How are campaigns in promoting tourism challenge the Department of Tourism in the Philippines? 3. How can the Department of Tourism contributes in promoting tourism in the country?

Significance of the Study This study revealed its importance by giving pertinent facts and information to the readers about the impact of Department of Tourism campaign to promote tourism in the Philippines. In this regard, it is the

government sector who will contribute and promotes tourism in the country, through convincing campaigns, advertisement, promotion and slogans.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study The researcher tackles about the challenges, effects and the factor that pave the ways of stressing the impact of the government sectorDepartment of Tourism: its campaign in promoting tourism in this country. It delimits to other concept related issue.

Definition of Terms The following terms are used in this study and clearly itemized: Campaign is how to promote the concept example, tourism by designing slogans and other sort of advertisements. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO: www.UNWTO.org), - a United Nations specialized agency, is the leading international organization with the decisive and central role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. World Travel & Tourism. Council (WTTC) - is the global authority on the economic and international institutions to create jobs, to drive exports and to generate prosperity social contribution of Travel & Tourism.

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Related Literature In 2002, the Department of Tourism initiated one of its most successful tourism promotion project, Visit Philippines 2003, under Secretary Richard J. Gordon. The latest improvements in the tourism industry in the country came about with the passage of Republic Act No. 9593 or the "Tourism Act of 2009 law." The promotional campaign for 2012 It's more fun in the Philippines. amid much fanfare and hype. But glitzy ad campaigns and slogans aside, now might not be the right time to promote tourism in the country. The Philippines is broken and we need to first fix it before we invite foreign tourists over. For starters: our major cities are dirtyin Metro Manila even the air is dirty; children begging in the streets are everywhere; traffic around the metropolis moves at a snails pace over potholed roads; and maniacal Filipino drivers cut in and out of traffic without so much as a scintilla of courtesy or discipline. So given where the Philippines stands today, the millions of dollars the government spends on tourism promotion will never generate the kind of returns it might otherwise produce were the Philippines not in the sorry state it is in. So maybe the country should save that money and concentrate instead on fixing its myriad problems first. Its more fun in the Philippines campaign. The campaign was met with wide open arms (read: much enthusiasm and the will to make it trend worldwide on social networking site Twitter). It was a huge success for the

most part until a picture showing the antique 1951 tourism ad of Switzerland came out in the open. People who were not big fans of the slogan (tagline whatever you call it) used Twitter to express disgust, disappointment, and whatever ill-feelings toward it much in the same way as people who were psyched about the initiative used the same platform to show support and pride. Those who were so positive about the new project tagged the naysayers to be pessimists (to the more creative and more fun people they call them Negatron). Some go so far as branding them as destroyers of the future of the Philippines. Wow (Philippines)! Since when did voicing ones opinion an attempt to destroy the Philippines? If you all believe that this campaign is going to be a success, why be so worried that the critics say it out loud? Says one of the writer, I guess people have to accept that not everyone will be happy about this and that this should have been expected right from the very start. I read that the Department of

Tourism conducted a survey to check the appeal of the tagline and they said they received good feedback. Cmon, not even one detractor? Anyway, I do not intend to malign our own country much less jeopardize the future of everyone who has a stake in this campaign, including myself of course. My intention is for the government to come up with original and never before heard slogans or logos for once. There are so many adjectives in the dictionary that we can use, there are so many great minds that can coin catchy and hopefully effective slogans. The government need not even pay an advertising firm to brand the campaign. Given that this is all said and done, why dont they just come clean

and tell the people that they were inspired by the eons-old campaign of Switzerland. There is nothing wrong with copying something that has been successful in the past. If it was, the true test is if indeed the Philippines can outdo the original. If it was indeed a big coincidence then so be it. Why be so defensive and accuse people of dragging you down? Philippines struggling to boost its tourism. The Philippines has

hundreds of tropical beaches, some of the world's best dive sites, ancient rice terraces and a unique culture that mixes Asian, Spanish and American influences. So it has plenty to offer potential tourists. Yet, when compared with other countries in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, it only gets a fraction of the visitors. The official tourism figures for 2011 came in at 3.9 million. That is a definite improvement on previous years, but still nothing like the almost 20 million who visited Thailand during the same period. The government has made it clear that promoting tourism is one of its key priorities, and to do this it has launched a new campaign with the slogan: "It's more fun in the Philippines." The aim is to compete with the region's more established tourism catchphrases, such as "Amazing Thailand", "Malaysia Truly Asia" and "Incredible India", by promoting something for which Filipinos are famous their fun-loving spirit. "This is our core strength - making sure our visitors have a fun and enjoyable stay," says a cheerful tourism department spokesman Benito Bengzon. As he said, "It's not manufactured, it's not

staged. It's something that comes naturally to us and I believe that gives us a competitive edge."

This is a country where restaurants have singing waiters, sales staff are regularly in fancy dress, and when you give someone directions by mentioning the dancing traffic warden, you have to specify which one. He says early feedback from tourists has been positive, and he is so confident of success that he expects the Philippines to get 10 million visitors by 2016, more than double the current annual number. Travel groups also seem to have reacted positively. It is a very different story from the last attempt at a new campaign slogan, "Pilipinas Kay Ganda", which was launched in November last year. Almost as soon as it was introduced, the slogan - which means "Beautiful Philippines" - was panned for being unintelligible to a foreign audience. And to make matters worse, the tourism department was accused of copying the logo from a campaign in Poland. "There wasn't as wide an acceptance for our last campaign as we would have wanted, so we decided to abort," admits Mr Bengzon. Mr Stutely puts it more succinctly. "That slogan was dreadful," he says. "A real mess."

In fact, the "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" slogan was so widely derided that Alberto Lim decided to resign as the tourism secretary shortly after it was launched. But even if the new campaign does take off, the tourism department still faces some major hurdles. For one thing, it is significantly more expensive and time-consuming for Europeans and Americans to fly to the Philippines than to many other Asian destinations. Only one European carrier, KLM, still flies directly from Europe to Manila, and that route is expected to be axed

soon.

Then there is the reputation of the country's own carriers, whose

reputations are in tatters. A few years ago, the safety ratings given to Philippine carriers was downgraded by the US Federal Aviation Administration, and they have also been blacklisted by the European Commission - not because of a bad safety record but because of inadequate documentation. This means that many foreign tour agents cannot insure internal Philippine flights, so their customers are either confined to Manila or have to sign an insurance waiver to fly elsewhere. This is obviously a big turnoff to the package tourism market. Then there is safety in general. Ever since eight Hong Kong tourists were killed by a hostage-taker on their tour bus in August 2010, the Hong Kong government has issued a black alert to warn its citizens against travel to the Philippines. The only other country deemed to warrant this type of alert is Syria - and visitors from Hong Kong to the Philippines have virtually disappeared since the warning was issued. The Philippines has lost an estimated $12m (7.6m) in revenue as a result. It is not just Hong Kong that issues alerts, however. Many countries issue warnings against travel to the southern Philippines, where several insurgent groups and kidnap gangs operate. Mr Stutely recalls that one of his firm's most popular tours was to the remote southern islands of Basilan and Tawi-Tawi in the 1990s, something that would not be considered safe today. But despite all these problems, there is a real sense of optimism here that, finally, tourism looks set to become one of the country's major earners and that "It's more fun in the Philippines" will help bring about this success, The tourism department has chosen to roll out its new campaign in an unconventional way, concentrating on social network sites before placing

adverts in the mainstream media. Filipinos are being invited to go onto the department's website to upload their own photos to illustrate what's fun about the Philippines, to generate their own posters. In typical Philippine fashion, this is already yielding some humorous results. Related Studies Tourism should be more than just showing off a great beach here or a fancy hotel there, tourism must showcase the entire country and its people. Sadly, in that regard we are still too far from ready. Philippines President Benigno Aquino III has joined the growing number of world leaders that are part of the UNWTO/WTTC Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign, aimed at rallying support for tourism at the highest level of government. Presenting the President with an Open Letter on the importance of tourism to global growth and development, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, congratulated the country on its impressive tourism development, its active support of the open skies policies and the launch of its latest tourism promotion campaign Its More Fun in the Philippines. The Secretary of the Department of Tourism of the Philippines (DOT), Mr Ramon Jimenez Jr. said: Its More Fun in the Philippines focuses on the Filipino as your host. The Filipino, your host, takes it as his absolute personal responsibility and almost as a matter of honour that the tourists stay is in fact fun. This exciting new campaign, the recent decision to liberalize aviation and joining the Leaders for Tourism Campaign are all steps in the right direction and proof that the Philippines is fully committed to maximizing its potential as an extremely attractive tourism destination, said Mr Rifai.

Travel and tourism in the Philippines performed better in 2010 as the global economic recovery had a positive effect over the economies of many countries. This led to higher growth in inbound arrivals and domestic tourism as well as healthy development in outbound tourism, leading to higher value sales growth for the majority if travel and tourism categories, including transportation, travel accommodation, travel retail, car rental, health and wellness tourism and tourist attractions. The high level of promotional activity undertaken by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the private sector both inside and outside the Philippines, particularly in the wake of the Hong Kong hostage incident, also helped to boost travel and tourism in the Philippines and mitigated the negative impact of the hostage incident. Online sales in travel and tourism boom. Online sales of travel and tourism products and services such as travel retail products, travel accommodation, airfares, car rental, tourist attractions and health and wellness tourism were subject to exceptional value sales growth in 2010, boosting the value share of internet sales in travel and tourism overall. This growth is attributable to increased local and global internet penetration as well as the increasing number of consumers who hold financial cards, which are generally required for completing payment over the internet. As domestic and inbound tourists are becoming increasingly internet savvy due to the growing popularity of social media, they are becoming more comfortable availing themselves of tourism products and services online. Purchasing travel and tourism products is more convenient and has been proven to be a secure way of making payment. The growing number of tourists between the ages of 1030 years, an age group which constitutes the majority of internet users in the Philippines, also helped boost online sales travel and tourism during 2010.

Government efforts to help tourism.

In a bid to further develop

business tourism and foreign investment in the country, the Philippines Senate made amendments to the Philippine Immigration Act of 2009 in June 2010. The law is intended to institute policies which would simplify business procedures for foreign investors in the country and enhance the countrys security measures as it mandates to modernize the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation. The aim of this is to strengthen the countrys defences against terrorism, human traffickers and tourists involved in criminal activities as well as to encourage business tourism. At the same time, the Department of Tourisms promotional events were aimed at developing sports tourism due to the vast natural terrain, sprawling beaches, vast lowlands and foothills which the Philippines has to offer. Travel and tourism in the Philippines performed better in 2010 as the global economic recovery had a positive effect over the economies of many countries. This led to higher growth in inbound arrivals and domestic tourism as well as healthy development in outbound tourism, leading to higher value sales growth for the majority if travel and tourism categories, including transportation, travel accommodation, travel retail, car rental, health and wellness tourism and tourist attractions. The high level of promotional activity undertaken by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the private sector both inside and outside the Philippines, particularly in the wake of the Hong Kong hostage incident, also helped to boost travel and tourism in the Philippines and mitigated the negative impact of the hostage incident. Today, the Department of Tourism launched its new logo and campaign to promote tourism in the country. Its More Fun in the Philippines is the new slogan and the logo looks like Philippines set in a banig weave. The slogan is

printed in different, vibrant colors. Overall, the theme takes on a hip, and refreshing look. Though the slogan has received a lot of positive reviews, theres a shade of doubt being cast over the newly launched campaign (as evident on some of the more negative comments about the slogan). It has been pointed out that the slogan seems to have been copied from a 1951 ad of Swiss National Tourism Office. Well, see for yourself. Im not even sure who first took note of this. Department of Tourism creates Virtual island. MTV Revelations,

part of the Awesome Philippines campaign to promote the Philippines as a destination for young adults and music lovers, has set up an island on Second Life, the popular 3D virtual world, to engage and encourage young travelers to visit the Philippines. Complementing the 8 May launch of the online campaign on Second Life will be the Philippines Department of Tourism (PDOT) animated television commercial, to air on MTV around the world beginning in early June. Visitors may utilize the virtual island to view and explore a multitude of destinations. On the island, visitors can dive virtually with whale sharks at the mouth of Donsol River, Sorsogon; go windsurfing on a beach modeled after the famous white sands of Boracay; fly above the majestic 1,268 Chocolate Hills of Bohol; and visit Mount Mayon, The Philippines' most active volcano.

''We wanted to do something original, yet relevant to today's youth. The Internet, virtual worlds like Second Life and social media are powerful platforms today. In particular, the Web 2.0 world puts the power directly in the hands of the consumers,'' explained Secretary of Philippines Department of

Tourism, Joseph ''Ace'' Durano. ''As much as it is about showcasing some of the amazing destinations the Philippines has to offer, it is also about youth participation. As a tourism board, we recognize the value of engaging young people online and we embrace co-creation alliances with our guests." ''We are proud to be the lead media agency appointed by the Philippines Department of Tourism to develop this one-of-a-kind global campaign - Awesome Philippines - targeting youth travelers in twelve markets," said Eduardo Mapa, Chief Operations Officer and Managing Director of Mediacontacts. ''By partnering with MTV Asia Networks, we have created MTV Revelations as part of the Awesome Philippines campaign. Through MTV Revelations, we are able to create greater awareness for Philippines destinations, off-line and on-line, by synergizing communications and marketing through traditional and digital mediums.'' ''Tapping into our global strength and developing tools to maximize engagement on all platforms is a vital part of the MTV Revelations campaign,'' said Indra Suharjono, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, MTV Networks Southeast Asia and Greater China. ''Recent research shows that while TV remains the most efficient medium to introduce youth to brands, combining the popularity of digital destinations such as Second Life with a 360 degree campaign such as MTV Revelations allows young people to engage, interact and experience the Philippines in new ways he said. With an eye on the growing market of youth adventure travelers, MTV Revelations campaign was launched on February 27th with the ''Awesome Philippines'' website. Targeting twelve markets - Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, U.K. and U.S.A. - the campaign features a series of video spots with MTV VJs from different countries talking about their personal experiences in the Philippines, giving

online visitors a fresh view on holiday destinations seen through the eyes of MTV. On the site, the ''Remix Your Holiday'' global contest encourages participation from site visitors, where they can create and publish online their own remixed videos of popular Philippine travel spots, using stock images and footages of the country's top tourist attractions. The contest runs through May 24, is open to participants in 11 countries and is offered in five different languages. One winner from each country will win the perfect holiday for two to the Philippines courtesy of the PDOT. To date, the contest has seen enthusiastic response from youth all over the world. While adopting a strong communication lead on the internet through Second Life and social network platforms for the MTV Revelations campaign, MTV Asia will also promote the ''Remix Your Holiday'' contest on MTV Channels in Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, U.K. and U.S.A , potentially reaching over 254 million homes worldwide. To film these vignettes, MTV VJs traveled to various parts of the Philippines including Manila, Batangas, Bicol, Bohol, Boracay, Cebu and Palawan.

CHAPTER 3 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Conclusion

As you develop a community tourism campaign, it is useful to separate "core" attractions that are a prime reason for travel, from secondary "supporting" attractions that enhance a visitor's experience once they are there. The impact of travel and tourism on the local economy goes beyond first level expenditures at food, lodging, gas, entertainment, and retail establishments. Travel spending brings in outside dollars that "turn over" in the community. Even if you do not have direct contact with travelers, the money filters through the entire economy as residents re-spend travel dollars. But the increased interest in tourism translates to fierce competition in the marketplace. What I dont like, though, is the length of the slogan itself. As for now, I still do remember Wow Philippines and I think its the best slogan so far. Unique and concise, these two words already brings a lot of beautiful thoughts that our countrys tourism can capitalize on. For the record, it is not also intend to campaign against the tourism industry of the country as a whole. I hope people dont be judgmental about it. I am still going to travel in the country and all over the world and still come back to the Philippines because this is where my roots are. I know that I have done my own part in promoting tourism in the country in my blog and in my personal life (in fact my boyfriend is coming back in February and one day soon his family from Denmark will be travelling here as well). If I voice out my opinion about this whole hoopla, I hope people should respect that.

I am all for promoting the Philippines as a destination of choice not just for its natural wonders but primarily because of its amazing people. I hope you allow me to say as well that my heart still belongs to the WOW

Philippines: More Than The Usual campaign. After all, when one sees or feels or tastes or experiences something spectacular, one would for sure enunciate the word WOW! To each his own isnt it? I pay my taxes so I think I can be entitled to my opinion.

Recommendation The tourism experience your community promotes now, whether or accidental, is generally a good indicator for the future. It is often easier to modify and market a travel experience that has evolved over time and is built on local flavor, than Do introduce and develop a new form of tourism that does not match local culture, environment, and heritage. Tourism marketing occurs within a competitive marketplace that goes well beyond the community boundaries. There are many forms of competition for your customers and their dollars-but neighboring communities generally are not one of them. A number of strong travel-oriented communities, working together on regional promotion, results in a stronger destination image, a greater variety of attractions and facilities, wider market exposure, and a healthy degree of competition that spurs improvements. It does seem a bit shady that the slogan was also from a tourism office. I wouldnt have taken notice if these were just lifted from some magazine. Makes one think, no? I dont quite agree that one cannot license or copyright a phrase as common as its more fun. The thing is, its too similar. Both slogans taken from tourism campaign. I dont think the negativity are directed hatred against the Department of Tourism. I think its more of concern as to how other countries might react if

they also know about the old swiss ad. Its good that someone gave heads up regarding it, so that further damage may be prevented. So, the new slogan is quite controversial. But does it have to mar the campaign too? I dont think so. I just hope Department of Tourism has a fantastic campaign lined up so that people may just forget this little controversy. After all, the whole thing looks nice, no? Lets just support this new campaign and see where it can take us.