Senators ask DOT to stick to one tourism campaign
Senators have urged the Department of Tourism to maintain a consistent brand insteading of changing the national slogan whenever a new administration takes office.
During the agency's budget hearing on Sept. 28, the DOT said that they are planning to allocate P100 million for their "Discover More to Love" campaign. While they clarified that this is just a sub-campaign and will not replace the "Love the Philippines" slogan, Sen. Erwin Tulfo wondered about the need to come up with new tourism brandings.
"Parang tayo lang ang bansa na iba iba—bawat administration may 'Love,' may 'More Love,' may 'Love-Love, may 'It’s More Fun,' may 'Wow Philippines,' kung ano ano everytime may bagong administration," Tulfo said.
"Wala tayong tatak, unlike 'Malaysia, truly Asia,'" he added. "Why do we change? Baka next administration, 'Come to the Philippines, Mamuhay ka sa Philippines.'"
Sen. JV Ejercito shared the same sentiment on sticking "with one branding."
"'Yung recall kasi, it's difficult to achieve. It takes years or decades. Kaya nga 'yung 'Malaysia, truly Asia,' parang 'yun nagsi-stick. So I'm hoping that this time, we will stick to it," he said.
DOT Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay agreed with the lawmakers in that they should not have kept changing the tagline. According to her, when she was appointed to the position in April, she made it a personal goal to preserve the current tagline.
However, she reasoned that they come up with new campaigns depending on the season.
"Depende po anong season o anong target market ang inaano namin, nagkaroon ng 'Discover More to Love.' But that still emanates from the organic 'Love the Philippines,'" Angara-Mathay said.
She explained that the sub-campaign was made after the agency observed a "very sharp drop in that sentiment for travel."
"Instead of our tourism assets becoming stranded, let's launch a domestic tourism campaign. And that's what we actually did. Sa kababayan po natin na nakatira dito, 'Discover More to Love' because we are highlighting the hidden gems," she said.
Tulfo then asked if the government should pass a law that will prohibit succeeding DOT secretaries from "toying" with the tourism slogan. Angara-Mathay said she would welcome legislation that would keep “Love the Philippines” as the country’s official tourism tagline, noting that it highlights one of the Philippines’ biggest tourism assets: its people.
The slogan was first unveiled back in 2023, replacing 2012's "It's More Fun in the Philippines." However, it was met with mixed reactions from social media users, with some noting that the previous one has been the country's invitation to travelers for over a decade now.
"When a slogan is catchy, vibrant, and FUN. YOU KEEP IT. It’s More Fun in The Philippines > Love the Philippines," one user on X wrote.
Others, meanwhile, were quick to embrace the change and were delighted about the message of the new campaign.
"Just reading or hearing this slogan makes me feel a sense of warmth and inclusivity. It's a beautiful message that reaches out to everyone, both Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike," an X user wrote.
Former Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, who bared the slogan at the time, said that they decided to come up with a new slogan as it was time to “evolve” and “move on.”
Previous slogans of the country include "WOW Philippines," "Pilipinas Kay Ganda," and "More Fun Awaits," to name a few.