It’s business as usual for tourism stakeholders in the country, a group of tour operators said on Sunday, stressing that the controversy over the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) new branding campaign did not affect travelers’ interest to come to the Philippines.
Fe Abling-Yu, president of the Philippine Tour Operators’ Association (Philtoa), said in a radio interview that foreign tourists continued to flock to the country despite the fiasco surrounding the “Love the Philippines” campaign, which sparked widespread outrage and made international headlines after it was found that a promotional video used stock footage of tourist destinations in other countries.
While tourism slogans somehow help in their tourism efforts, Abling-Yu said Philtoa “did not bank on the new slogan that much.”
“We can do it from our end, from the private sector,” she said. “But of course, the DOT’s goal to promote tourism is good … what it did may not be perfect but Secretary [Christina] Frasco acted fast to address the issue. President Marcos has also spoken that the contract with the advertising agency was already terminated and the matter is being investigated.”
Asked if there were travelers or tourist groups who backed out from their scheduled trips to the Philippines following the video brouhaha, Abling-Yu said there was none.
“The slogan was launched on June 27, so it’s not even a month. It probably did not register that much … It’s good that the lapses concerning the video were found early on so whatever defect it has can be remedied,” she said.
Citing DOT figures, Abling-Yu said that as of May 2023, there have been 2.38 million international arrivals to the country. INQ