MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism's (DOT) new slogan, "Love the Philippines," has sparked differing opinions among senators.
Following mixed reactions from local netizens after President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. unveiled the slogan on Tuesday night, Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero urged the public to support the newly introduced slogan which aims to promote the country and its tourism offerings beyond fun.
While acknowledging the success of the previous campaign, "It's More Fun in the Philippines," which saw 4.47 million tourist arrivals in 2013 and 8.26 million in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Escudero emphasized the importance of giving the new slogan a chance.
"While the saying goes, 'if it ain't broke, why fix it?' I believe in giving it a chance," the senator said, adding that the effectiveness of a slogan relies on various factors such as the destination’s unique offerings, its target audience and marketing strategy.
“The last thing I want is for our country and people to be seen bickering about our slogan in front of foreigners or tourists—our putative market. I refuse to be part of any such thing until we have given it a chance,” Escudero said.
Sen. Nancy Binay, chairperson of the Senate Committees on Tourism, Cultural Communities, and Social Justice, on the other hand, acknowledged the DOT's initiative to enhance its marketing pitch for tourism. She however raised concerns on the timing of the campaign.
"It's nice to show the world that we are back on our feet and ready to welcome balikbayans and foreign guests. We appreciate the initiative of the DOT to enhance its marketing pitch to kickstart tourism. And I believe dumaan naman sa FGDs [focused group discussions] ang slogan," Binay said.
(It's nice to show the world that we are back on our feet and ready to welcome balikbayans and foreign guests. We appreciate the initiative of the DOT to enhance its marketing pitch to kickstart tourism. And I believe the slogan went through focused group discussions.)
"Pero, for me, it's a question of timing (But for me, it's a question of timing)," Binay added.
Binay said introducing a new slogan always involves expenses since it would "entail a huge amount of US dollars to start and sustain a new campaign."
"Sa dami ng mga kailangang nating unahin at i-prioritize na pagkagastusan, we don't have sufficient funds to finance a re-brand," the female senator said.
(With numerous priorities and others important matters we have to allocate our funds to, we don't have sufficient funds to finance a re-brand.)
Embracing the new slogan, according to Binay, is the only option left for Filipinos.
"Kaso, nandyan na nga 'yan. 'Ika nga, 'pag love mo ang isang tao o bagay, tatanggapin mo anuman 'yung kanyang kakulangan, and willing ka pa rin bigyan ng chance—with the hope na mag-work out," the senator concluded.
(The new slogan is here to stay. As they say, when you love someone or something, you accept their shortcomings and are still willing to give them a chance, with the hope that it will work out.)
The new tourism created by the DDB Group Philippines is reported to cost P50 million, according to the published terms of reference of DOT’s Notices of Bids issued in February.