A Thousand Miles Behind

Find out for yourself why it’s more fun in the Philippines.
And make the most out of your next vacation.

This is just a preview of things to come.
Watch out for more fun. Soon.

(Images and texts from http://itsmorefuninthephilippines.com/)

Ok. Let’s just dive right in. 

I. Love. It. 

Yeah, that’s my reaction when I saw the new campaign of the Department of Tourism. Of course, it’s almost impossible to beat “Wow, Philippines!,” way back in the 90s but this comes awfully close. In some ways, #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines bests “Wow, Philippines!” Visually, I appreciate that this new campaign is sleek, modern, fresh and above all, honest. 

Some people tweeted that the slogan didn’t pack a punch, or it was too wordy, or it was too simple. I don’t think they get it. #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines is effin’ genius. Here are two reasons:

One, the new campaign is just stating the obvious. Unlike the previous campaigns, #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines (yes, I’m keeping the hashtag) will not require the reader to look further, infer or scratch the surface to know, why it IS more fun in the Philippines. Frankly, it’s so obvious, is it? There is just no way of putting the Filipinos down. Come on. Throw our people into ANY kind of situation, we will find something to have fun with. Oh well, admittedly, sometimes, too much fun. I will not even be going into how we happen to celebrate everything in our country. Yes, #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines may not as catchy as the flu, but it definitely puts the message across, which is the goal of every slogan. 

Two, and probably the most genius part of the campaign, the slogan really sells the idea of tourism in the country without building a single bridge, repaving a road or fixing the NAIA. Whoa. I was really blown away by this fact when I realized this. The previous campaigns of the Department of Tourism tried to transform the country into, or at least project the image of, a wonderland. Of course, doing that will require the shelling out of an immense amount of our resources - monetary and human. This campaign didn’t even attempt to do that. It just said what was already there, pointed out was already in place: It’s the Filipinos that bring the fun into the islands. 

With that said, there are two sides to this #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines campaign. The first side is the side I already mentioned. The second side is the side I dread.

Ok. So out with it.

#ItsmorefuninthePhilippines is potentially the laziest tourism campaign. Ever.

I will not retract the fact that #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines is indeed a genius move by the Department. The thing is, launching a campaign of this size requires a lot of preparation. Indeed, no one would recommend building new megastructures to wow visitors, but I think there should be an improvement of the present infrastructures. It may be fun to commute in the Philippines, but definitely, it is not the most convenient. We lack a lot of things to rival Bangkok, now the number one tourist destination in the world (Take that, Paris!).  I’m not going all politico to discuss every kink and problem in our country. I’m sticking the discussion to this tourism conundrum. Aside from this campaign, I am not aware that the government is getting busy doing something about the tourism industry. Traffic is still terrible; the islands, still inaccessible; NAIA, still… (Find a word that rhymes and feel free to insert it here.) You just have to have the goods to back it up when you’re boasting something like #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines. We do. It’s the matter of delivery that is lacking. That’s the genius of #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines. Even if nothing’s done to improve anything, there is still truism in the slogan. Yes, #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines. I wish we could make it easy for others, and more importantly, our selves, to experience it.

In a couple of months, the Department of Tourism will be officially launching #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines. With that, I am hoping that the Government will pull its weight into this. May this campaign be beyond words and beautiful pictures. May it not be for show. It’s a good sentiment. It’s hopeful. #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines is that thing we have going on for us Filipinos. It’s something worth sharing with the world.