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Love the Philippines? President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr faces flak over ‘drab and lazy’ tourism slogan
- Social media users suggested stylistic changes to the ‘Love the Philippines’ slogan while others urged improving infrastructure to attract visitors
- Reinvigorating the tourism business, which contributed 6.2 per cent to Manila’s GDP in 2022, is one of the president’s key priorities
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s hopes of turbocharging the country’s pandemic-hit tourism sector with a new slogan are being met with little enthusiasm from citizens, who argue the country needs improved infrastructure to draw in visitors, not a “bland” catchphrase.
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Marcos said the latest branding campaign, “Love the Philippines”, would act as a “guidepost” for the travel industry as it slowly recovers from the doldrums of Covid.
“It springs from the genuine love that you, me, and all of us have for the Philippines,” he said at an event to replace the decade-old “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” catchphrase.
Marcos added the initiative was aimed at transforming the country into a regional “tourism powerhouse” that would offer more than sightseeing and enrich the overall experience of travellers.
He also called on Filipinos to “keep introducing the Philippines to the world as a top tier tourist hub” and be the Southeast Asian nation’s tourism ambassadors, The Manila Bulletin reported.
“I enjoin you all to be our country’s promoters, advocates, and if I may borrow a coined term in this age of social media, be our country’s top influencers,” Marcos said.
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The president, who took office last June, noted in his first State of the Nation Address that reinvigorating the tourism business was one of his key priorities.
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