MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has welcomed 2.67 million tourists from overseas as of Thursday, which is more than half of the targeted number of foreign tourists for the year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said yesterday.
The DOT said 2.44 million of these tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2023 are foreigners and leading them are South Koreans, totaling 665,757.
Americans who traveled from the United States account for 509,526 of foreign tourists arriving in the country, followed by Australians at 128,232, Japanese at 127,139 and Canadians at 123,439, the latest figures showed.
The DOT aims to hit the 4.8-million mark in international tourist arrivals this year, amid the further relaxing of travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The mandatory wearing of face masks, testing and quarantine rules have all been eased.
Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco is elated with the foreign tourist arrivals so far, and recently launched the new “Love the Philippines” tourism campaign. No less than President Marcos led the launch with Frasco at the Manila Hotel last Tuesday. Amid mixed reactions, online and offline, to the new slogan created along with the campaign by marketing firm Doyle, Dane and Bernbach Philippines, Frasco pointed out that “love” cannot be forced on people.
“You cannot demand love. It is a natural thing that must emanate from your heart. ‘Love the Philippines’ goes to the heart of every Filipino that loves their country. You can no more force one person to love their country in the same way that you cannot force them to love themselves, or somebody else,” she said in a recent television interview.
Meanwhile, Frasco revealed the DOT spent a total of P49 million to come up with the Love the Philippines tourism campaign.
“The process of procurement was done and initiated, and the total cost of the entire study, coming up with the logo and everything and the components of this branding campaign totaled to P49 million,” she said in a CNN Philippines interview last Thursday.
She also asserted that “it is right to invest in Philippine tourism because it gives so much benefit to the economy and to the Filipino people.” While some are criticizing the funding just to have a new tourism slogan, Marcos said it would serve as the guidepost for the swift recovery of the tourism industry following the COVID-19 pandemic. For her part, US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson has nothing but praises for the country’s brand new slogan, Love the Philippines.
She even posted the brand logo in her Twitter account on Thursday while sharing how she loves being in the country and enjoying all it has to offer.
“Almost one year since I arrived and I already have lots of reasons to #LoveThePhilippines,” tweeted Carlson, whose appointment to Manila was in July 2022.
She said she loves “the food, the culture and definitely the people” of the Philippines, which are among the things that the government is trying to further promote to boost tourism.
Carlson also congratulated the DOT on its 50th anniversary which coincided with the launching of the new “Love the Philippines” tourism campaign. Mayon
In Congress, however, there has been a difference in opinion about the country’s rebranded tourism program in terms of how it promotes the majestic Mayon Volcano.
In a letter sent to the DOT secretary, Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman said the “purported disenchantment of [Albay 2nd District] Rep. Joey Salceda on the low priority given by the DOT to the Mayon Volcano as a tourist destination is essentially political soundbite.”
“I fully agree with your (Frasco’s) observation that his criticism is obviously premature as the fresh tourism initiatives of DOT under your leadership are still in the process of unfolding and would equally promote all Philippine tourist attractions and destinations,” Lagman said.
For context, Salceda had expressed disappointment at the DOT for supposedly giving little importance to the world-renowned Mayon Volcano in Albay in the promotional campaign and representing it as a mere pixel figure in the tourism logo. But in his letter to Frasco, Lagman said: “The best argument against Rep. Salceda’s parochial view on the supposed low priority accorded to the Mayon Volcano is your resolve to address the lack of potable water supply to the Mayon Tourism Complex, including the newly renovated Mayon Skyline Hotel (formerly Mayon Rest House), which was funded upon my initiative.”
Lagman underscored that “there is a continuing annual appropriation for the improvement and maintenance of the Mayon Parks Road leading to the Mayon Tourism Complex.”
“I am fully supportive of your reinvigorated program to best promote and sustain Philippine tourism,” he added.— Sheila Crisostomo, Michael Punongbayan