WOW Philippines taxi campaign launched in Singapore

The "Wow Philippines" taxi ad campaign rolled off with a 25-taxi motorcade on Singapore’s major thoroughfares and along its premiere shopping districts.

At least 50 taxis in the city-state now bear the "Wow Philippines" logo and scenes of major Philippine tourist spots. The campaign ends in April.

The Philippine Embassy said the taxi ad campaign seeks increased tourist arrivals from Singapore to the Philippines.

Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Belen Anota said Singaporean tourist arrivals in the Philippines increased by 16.8 percent from January to September 2006 compared to the same period of the previous year, making Singapore one of the growing markets for Philippine tourism.

Anota said in her report to the DFA that the "Wow Philippines" taxi ad campaign sent off a 25-taxi motorcade along the major thoroughfares of Singapore, including Orchard Road, Singapore’s premiere shopping district. The motorcade coincided with the holding of the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2007 and the TRAVEX at ATF 2007 last week in Singapore.

Joining the motorcade were Anota, Tourism officials led by Undersecretary for Tourism services and Regional Offices Sector Oscar Palabyab, and Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions Eduardo Jarque Jr.

Officers and staff of the embassy and its attached agencies, and prominent leaders of the Filipino community were in their Filipiniana attire.

The motorcade ended its run at the Suntec Convention Center, where the Philippine Booth hosted several sales representatives of Philippine hotels, resorts, travel agencies, airline such as Waterfront Hotels, Marco Polo Davao, Club Paradise Palawan, Philippine Air Lines and SEAIR. The booth was given a resort feel, adorned with lush greenery and a makeshift bahay kubo.

Organized by the Philippine Tourism Office in Singapore under Tourism Attache Gerosel Syquian, the taxi ad campaign will run for three months, ending on April 30.This followed the highly successful bus-ad campaign that ran from April 1 to June 30, 2006 and the Mass Rapid Transit train-ad campaign that ended on Dec. 31.