Philippines revives It’s More Fun campaign with sustainability in focus

The Philippine Department of Tourism yesterday rolled out the refreshed It’s More Fun in the Philippines campaign anchored on tourism sustainability.

Sporting a new logo that weaves the unique colours and culture of the Philippines as well as a new font, the refreshed campaign is 100 per cent crowd-sourced using photos and videos shared by tourists.

The DoT is encouraging tourists to share more photos and videos through the hashtag #itsmorefuninthePhilippines. For every submission, US$10 will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat explained that the refreshed campaign started with Boracay’s ongoing rehabilitation. “When we think of fun, it’s already redefined. We can have fun but at the same time protect the environment (and) have responsible tourists.

“We are coming into 2019 with a renewed and refreshed sense of purpose, with more and more travellers conscious about their ecological footprint, the cultures and experiences they are consuming and simply wanting to know how they can give back,” she added.

Puyat said she retained the It’s More Fun in the Philippines name as she believed in continuity, citing Malaysia, Truly Asia and Incredible India as examples of how other countries don’t change their tourism campaign names.

She added that the name has already found acceptance among the travelling public, with 4.3 million people already using the hashtag. “The hashtag works. The Philippines have embraced it. So why not continue what is good?”

The DoT is hopeful that the refreshed campaign will help meet the 8.2 million foreign arrivals targeted for this year.

Puyat noted that despite Boracay’s six-month closure, foreign arrivals reached 7.1 million in 2018, which was still a 7.7 per cent growth from the previous year.

source: TTG Asia