Editorial - Fishing in the wrong lake

The initial debacle involving the country’s tourism campaign that hounded the early days of the Aquino administration has not resulted in something better. While no shame attaches to the new campaign the way the previous one did, it still does not get it.

The new campaign is Choose Philippines. What it primarily does is encourage Filipinos to encourage other Filipinos to patronize their own country. It takes off from the philosophy of the new tourism boss — to sell the country, we need to sell it to ourselves first.

That philosophy worked great with the fastfood chain, with whom the new tourism boss used to be associated. But it worked great because the food and service of the chain was in fact meant to captivate the local market, and eventually expats in other lands. 

Tourism is an entirely different matter altogether. Tourism must primarily be directed at the international market. Not that the local market should be ignored, but there is such a thing as the local market having no choice.

Look at it this way. Why should Filipinos in the Philippines be the main target of a tourism campaign when they have no choice? Whether they like it or not, Filipinos will have to patronize local tourism destinations owing to the fact that they are already here.

Of course there are those who can afford to go outside the country. But how many do you think can afford to do so? And on how regular a basis. Eventually, because they are Filipinos who are here, they will have to choose the Philippines. And choose it more often.

So why devote resources and energies in convincing Filipinos to choose their own country when they have no choice in the first place? These precious resources and energies are better spent convincing people in other countries to choose the Philippines.

But the tourism department has only been doing that sparingly, if at all. We are being outperformed even by non-traditional tourist destinations like Mongolia and Cambodia. Why, even mere cities or territories like Macau and Chengdu are outpacing us.

If we truly want to make tourism a real sunshine industry, we must do as Malaysia. Hardly do 30 minutes pass on any major television channel that a “Malaysia Truly Asia” commercial does not appear. No wonder it is the only Southeast Asian nation in the Top 10 global destinations.