Fund request for DOT brand campaign questioned

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Nancy Binay questioned the funding request of the Department of Tourism (DOT) for its branding campaign when it has already launched the new tourism slogan “Love the Philippines.”

Binay grilled Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco during the Senate’s finance subcommittee deliberations on Tuesday into the department’s proposed P2.604-billion budget for 2024.

At least P500 million was earmarked for the DOT Branding Campaign Program, according to the 2024 National Expenditure Program. Of that amount, Binay said, P30 million was allocated for “Strategy, Research and Overall Direction for the Integrated Marketing Communication Campaign.”

“Why are you spending P30 million for a study that was supposed to be done before you launched ‘Love the Philippines’?” Binay asked.

When Frasco told the senator that research has been done for the new tourism slogan, Binay said the fund should then be realigned for being redundant.

She also urged Frasco to demand an apology from her Indonesian counterpart for contributing to the backlash brought about by the “Love the Philippines” ad fiasco that used foreign stock footage.

Binay cited a July 4 Jakarta Globe article, which quoted Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno as saying that he saw the Indonesian rice paddies in a DOT promotional video during the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization meeting in Cambodia.

But Frasco said she could not berate her counterpart in a fellow ASEAN country.

“With all due respect, we find ourselves in the unique situation of ASEAN centrality, goodwill and good relations among fellow tourism neighbors,” Frasco said.

Meanwhile, the DOT seeks to continue luring Chinese tourists into the country after launching the electronic visa or e-visa program for them.

It was among the topics discussed during a meeting between Frasco and officials of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. or FFCCCII led by its president Dr. Cecilio Pedro last Oct. 4.

Chinese tourists are considered “one of the top sources of inbound travelers,” the agency noted in a statement.

In early September, the country received its first visitor from Shanghai, China that carried an e-visa, reported the Bureau of Immigration. The e-visa program first launched in Shanghai enabled travelers to apply for and get temporary visitor’s visa online.

As of Oct. 3, China is fourth among the Philippines’ source of tourists with the arrival of 202,589 Chinese travelers.

The DOT and the FFCCCII also discussed the enhancement of the country’s gateways, construction of tourism roads, expansion of the Philippines’ cruise tourism, and reopening of Mindanao for tourism.

Frasco told the FFCCCII officials that the DOT was “inspired by the work that you have done as individuals and collectively to help us in our work of trying to ensure that the recovery of Philippine tourism is as robust as it can be at the soonest possible time.” – Ghio Ong