The Philippine travel trade has objected to government plans to replace the It’s More Fun in the Philippines tourism campaign slogan.
Already, 90 individuals have signed a petition on change.org to retain the current slogan. “Change only applies if there is something wrong or if there is something not working well. (But) this campaign has a great recall over the years,” the petition stated.
One of the petition signatories, Angel Ramos Bognot, president and managing director of Afro Asian Travel, said It’s More Fun in the Philippines is “very effective and gives our company more business. It sounds very positive”.
Bognot echoed the consensus within the travel trade that the Department of Tourism made the decision to change the slogan “without consultation with the private sector” who also knows what’s good and right for their industry.
Meanwhile, Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA) president Arthur Lopez, while he did not sign the online petition, does hope to retain the slogan. “Why change when it ain’t broken?” he told TTG Asia.
Those who want to change the slogan said it is because the campaign doesn’t accurately reflect the destination under present Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.
One of them, Travel People operations manager Ramon Pamintuan, said “it’s no longer fun in the Philippines. The country’s international image has deteriorated because of (the spate) of extrajudicial killings”.
Duterte’s war against drug addiction and drug trafficking has claimed thousands of lives in the last five months, killed without due process of law.
As of press time, tourism secretary Wanda Teo had not commented on the issue. But in a press release issued on Tuesday, she said that the new tourism slogan will be launched during the Miss Universe pageant to be held in Manila in January.
Teo earlier said that changing the tourism slogan is “normal” for a new administration and that the new one will reflect the changes in the country under Duterte.
