New tourism campaign, logo irk Albay lawmaker

The Department of Tourism’s new campaign slogan and logo

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda was none too pleased with the government’s new P250-million tourism campaign slogan and logo because he said they did not feature his province’s beloved Mayon Volcano, one of the country’s iconic and top tourist attractions.

He hinted that such an affront could meet funding problems in Congress.

In online tirades on Wednesday and Thursday, Salceda pressed Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco of the Department of Tourism (DOT) to explain the omission of an image of the volcano in the 106-second “LOVE the Philippines” campaign video.

He said he was disappointed with his “friend,” Frasco, for excluding Mayon from the campaign video and for representing it as a tiny “pixel” in the logo.

“I am more disappointed in the response that I should not bring this issue up because, anyway, Mayon is included in the 50 major volcanoes and mountains represented (by a pixel!) in the official tourism logo and slogan,” Salceda said.

“Mayon deserves better than a pixel in the logo where you need strained eyes to see it. Mayon has been a national symbol and a national treasure (one of only three Unesco-declared biosphere reserves in the country). No, Sec. Frasco, ask all your predecessors in DOT—Mayon deserved better treatment. You failed Albay,” he said in another post.

‘Mayon scorned’

He indicated that the new tourism campaign could face funding problems when it comes up in budget deliberations in Congress.

“Given the dismissive attitude of DOT to a most legitimate concern we articulated, then the forthcoming budget season will be the proper venue for reckoning. Hell hath no fury than a Mayon scorned,” Salceda said on Thursday in a Facebook post that has been deleted.

Frasco sought to appease the Albay representative, saying that the campaign video released was “only the beginning.”

“I assure Congressman Salceda that efforts are ongoing to promote equally our destinations in the country,” she said in an interview with GMA TV on Thursday night.

She said that a heritage, culture, and arts caravan was slated to be held in the Bicol region in September.

Salceda is a “personal friend of our family for many years,” she added.

But Salceda was not mollified.

“Say sorry or drop your consultant. Nothing will appease Albay,” he said.

He said he was expressing his “frustration” because of tourism’s crucial role in his province and Bicol at large.

“This is how thousands of Albayano families make a living. It would not have cost much to include just a scene of Mayon, but it would have meant the world to Albay families relying on tourism for their bread and butter,” he said on Facebook.

‘Changing trends’

In her television interview, Frasco said the “changing trends” in tourism and travel in the wake of lockdowns and mobility restrictions due to the pandemic prompted the DOT to rebrand the government’s tourism campaign.

Hong Kong launched in February this year its “Hello Hong Kong” global tourism campaign to attract more visitors and to tell the world that it was “back” from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Frasco said “the world has been changed by the pandemic … and therefore, we must make efforts for the country to evolve, innovate, [and] to pivot.”

“[This] would be an opportunity for the country to add new attractions that may entice tourists to visit the Philippines beyond fun and adventure,” she said.

The tourism chief said she wanted to “market our country… not just as a venue for fun, but also for so many other things” such as its culture and history and its diverse ethnic and indigenous communities that could offer “cultural immersions” for visitors.

The DOT said the marketing and communication conglomerate, DDB Group Philippines, won the contract for the tourism promotion campaign against other bidders.

It is composed of multiple creative and media agencies and was behind the award-winning ad campaigns of big brands such as Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Smart Communications, and Meralco.

The DOT hopes to attract 4.8 million international visitors this year, almost double the 2.65 million foreign tourists in 2022.

From Jan. 1 to June this year, the country already recorded 2.62 million international visitors.

The country generated P1.74 trillion in tourism revenues in 2022 and 5.2 million jobs.

—WITH A REPORT FROM MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES

READ: ‘Love the Philippines’ is country’s new tourism slogan — DOT