NOTE: THIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE BOHOL CHRONICLE’S SUNDAY PRINT EDITION.
House Tourism Committee Senior Vice Chairman and Principal Author of RA 9593 or the Tourism Act of 2009 Cong. Edgar Chatto tells the Department of Tourism (DOT) to hold the ad agency DDB accountable, fix the blunder and move forward to avoid making the Philippines a laughing stock in the tourism industry worldwide.
Chatto says that “Love the Philippines” was a good slogan that can identify with anything about a destination. The use of foreign materials however in the ad was unacceptable and should be rectified.
“A reputable ad company like DDB committed a big mistake that must be corrected immediately,” Chatto added.
DOT launched the slogan on the occasion of the Department’s 50th anniversary where Chatto, who was in Bohol, was asked to deliver a video message.
As then governor of Bohol, Chatto himself led the team that developed the province’s own slogan to capture global interest in the road towards recovery after the 2013 Bohol Earthquake.
Chatto explained that it was difficult to describe a destination with a brand.
“With the help of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), CNN and DOT, we decided to adopt “Behold Bohol” which created a big positive impact to domestic and foreign tourists,” he said.
“Let’s recover from this fiasco, learn lessons and move forward,” Chatto said, noting that tourism remains one of the most resilient global industries.
He cited industry gains under the leadership of Secretary Christina Frasco. In latest data, the country recorded 2,002,304 international visitor arrivals from January 1 to May 12, 2023. The DOT reported that this figure is higher than the entire year’s target for 2022 of 1.7 million foreign visitors.
“Tourism is a competition that we must win as an engine for growth and that provides jobs to our people,” Chatto stated.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PS), the Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGA) share of the sector to the Philippine economy as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was estimated at 6.2 percent and amounted to PHP 1.38 trillion in 2022. This is 36.9 percent higher compared with the PHP 1.00 trillion in 2021.
Based on the 2022 Philippine Tourism Satellite Accounts (PTSA), employment in tourism-identified industries was estimated at 5.35 million last year.