PH eyed as Asia’s tourism powerhouse

PresIDeNt ferdinand marcos Jr. on tuesday, June 27 vowed to transform the country into a "tourism powerhouse" in Asia as the Philippines launched its enhanced tourism campaign, "Love the Philippines."

and the Dot for conceptualizing the new slogan, which, he said, is not only promoting the Philippines as a tourist destination but also enhancing the overall experience of every traveler.

world that we are ready and fully equipped to welcome tourists, travelers as well as investors," he said.

the president called filipinos to be the country's "tourism ambassadors."

southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia last year.

But the Indonesian leader answered that that is their law and they had already given Veloso a “postponement” of her sentence. Veloso was convicted of drug smuggling in 2010 after 2.6 kilograms of heroin were found hidden in her suitcase upon her arrival at Yogyakarta’s Adisucipto International Airport.

she was later sentenced to death by musketry, but the sentence was suspended after new evidence emerged, suggesting that she was also victimized by a drug trafficking syndicate.

“I know my mother is just a victim and she is a good person and a good mother,” said Veloso’s son mark, who was able to visit her in detention at Wonosari in Yogyakarta.

“I hope she will be given clemency at the soonest possible time, so we can be together. our life in the Philippines may be simple, but what’s important is that we are together,” said mark, who last saw his mother in 2019. n marcos led the launch of the new campaign slogan during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Department of tourism (Dot) at the manila hotel. the new campaign succeeded the present slogan, "It's more fun in the Philippines," which was conceptualized during the time of President Benigno Aquino III and was sustained by the Duterte administration. marcos affirmed his commitment to advance the country's tourism industry, saying that "this prioritization goes deeper than merely stimulating economic activities and generating job opportunities."

"It springs from the genuine love, me and all of us have for the filipinos. And what better way to express that love than directly incorporating it into our country's newest tourism campaign slogan, Love the Philippines," marcos said.

"this is new branding which we unveiled today. It will serve as our guidepost for the Philippine tourism Industry moving forward," he added. the president thanked tourism secretary Christina Garcia frasco marcos said these plans are laid out in detail in the National tourism Development Plan for 2023-2028, which was approved in may. the five-year plan stemmed from this administration's determination to implement programs that will positively transform our country towards being a tourism powerhouse in Asia in the coming years," marcos said. "Let us therefore strive to translate our golden vision into reality, which also encapsulates this year's milestone theme of Ginto, or Greater Innovations, New tourism opportunities."

"Included in the list of targets are to promote regional products, build more infra for ease of travel, and champion green movements, amongst others," he said.

Citing the latest data on the status of the country's tourism sector, marcos said the country continues to see improving figures in tourism revenues, employment, international arrivals and domestic trips.

"All of these are encouraging signs that the tourism industry in our country as a whole is headed well towards full recovery. It also conveys a strong message to the the Philippines ranks sixth on the list of top tourism magnets in southeast Asia. the Philippine tourism industry made P1.74 trillion from domestic and foreign tourist receipts and generated 5.2 million jobs for filipinos in 2022, based on data from the Dot (catherine Valente/ ManilaTimes.net)

"Let us take pride and celebrate the love we have for our country and our people, for it is the same love that gave meaning to the establishment of the Dot and the same love that will propel our tourism industry moving forward into the future," he said. earlier, frasco said the "main change" in the Philippines' marketing strategy will be the shift in focus to "highlight the heart and soul of the filipino." she said the transformation is evident in the country's culture, festivals, food and products. everything that makes us diverse and unique and a proud filipino people... gives us pride of place. We are putting forth the best of the best of the Philippines to the world because it cannot be denied that we do give the world our best," frasco said.