Nearly 900 local government units (LGUs) and stakeholders across the country have shown support for the "Love the Philippines" campaign by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
In her remarks during the Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA) general meeting in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco expressed her profound gratitude for the support given to the campaign amid the issue with an advertising agency tasked to conceptualized the campaign.
"Love the Philippines is an effort on the part of our national government to remind our fellow Filipinos that there is so much to love about our country. We are only one of the 80 megabiodiverse destinations in the world. We are a treasure trove of heritage, history, culture and the creative arts, " she said.
Frasco added that the Filipino hospitality is unmatched worldwide, as greatly evinced by the Filipino brand of service excellence across the tourism value chain.
"Love the Philippines is to highlight a love of country, of pride of place, and love for each other. And it's a reminder and a call to action, that if we love our country, we will herald the best of the best of our destinations", she said.
With this, Frasco enjoined the LGUs and stakeholders to "localize" the campaign in specific destinations as an expression of this deep love for the Philippines. According to her, "We all love the Philippines. And it is this deep love for our country that will propel us and give us the daring to say that the Philippines deserves a much more primary position in Asia and the world as a tourism powerhouse.
The DOT formally launched the enhanced campaign "Love the Philippines" last June after replacing the previous campaign "It's More Fun in the Philippines" which has been used for almost 11 years.
After discovering that the advertising firm DDB Philippines used stock footage of tourism shots abroad for the new tourism campaign, the DOT decided to terminate the contract.
The advertising agency issued a public apology, saying it is taking full responsibility for the use of foreign stock footage and said that no public funds were used in producing the now-deleted video.
