‘Cebu slogan should follow DOT theme’

SOME travel operators agreed with the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) call for Cebu to base its own slogan with the agency’s theme “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”

“We won’t have a different brand, but it should be something that is applicable for Cebu. We can do some variation with the DOT slogan,” said Jenny Franco of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (Naitas) of Cebu.

Franco said Cebu’s slogan can be a variation of the “It’s more fun” theme that will  distinguish the province from others in the country.

Cebu-based travel blogger Jona Branzuela Bering agreed.

“We may have many problems in the Philippines, but it takes the lighter side. It’s really more fun here,” Bering said.

She said the DOT slogan markets the Filipino’s famed hospitality in a new light to international visitors.

“A separate branding (for Cebu) can help. The Philippines has many islands. There has something that will distinguish Cebu,” she said.

Bering said each province has its own unique cultural and historical attractions for the visitors.

Earlier, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said the Capitol’s Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo program evokes the spirit of “fun” in the DOT slogan.

What’s needed, she said, is for each Filipino to be reminded of their responsibilities to the country.

“Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo is already all-caps fun … A unique kind of memorable experience for everyone who joins. Whether you come from outside of the country or the province of from Cebu itself. It’s a lot of fun in the Suroy-Suroy,” she said.

Garcia said she hired her own daughter, lawyer Christina Frasco, to study the institutionalization of the Suroy-Suroy and other programs of her administration. Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya and Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus