The announcement of
the Philippine Department of Tourism's new slogan in 2011 received a great deal
of attention, not all kind. The most severe criticism was that the slogan had
been used by another country back in the 1950's. Therefore, it did not demonstrate
originality.
"It's more fun
in the Philippines."
The slogan generated
a lot of sarcasm, too, about some of the un-fun aspects of Philippine life,
mainly poverty and murder.
The crucial
question, it seemed to me at the time, is not whether it was original, but
whether or not it would work. I wrote at the time that it seemed rich with
potential.
The slogan has been
brilliantly used and tourism numbers are up already. The slogan is attaching to
the Philippines, and for good reason. There are a lot of fun places to visit in
the Philippines if you are willing to go to natural places where there are no
Disney rides or roller coasters, and in some places no Disney Hotel, either.
The Philippines is indeed rich with scenery and the exotic appeal of being
real.
The man in the
Department of Tourism's driver's seat is Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr. He was appointed
to his position by President Aquino on September 1, 2011 subsequent to the
resignation of Alberto Lim as Secretary. Here's what President Aquino had to
say about Mr. Jimenez:
- "He's a marketing, advertising guy and tourism I think is primarily a marketing effort because the product is already there. Merong enhancing the product that we have in the Philippines and at the end of the day, he will be informing a lot of the citizens of the world that there are such and such sites accessible, it should be visited."[ABS-CBN News]
Now this is one of
those appointments for which I do not fault President Aquino for hiring someone
he knew, and was close to. You see, Mr. Jimenez ran the President's election
campaign. The President could see the character
of the man and the quality of his work. The appointment did not shortchange the
Philippines in the area of capability. It strengthened it.
Mr. Jimenez had his
own words to say in response to the President's announcement of his
appointment:
- With its picturesque scenery, the Philippines should be “ . . . as easy to sell as Chickenjoy”.
Ah, a man with
confidence. And humor.
He also had this to say:
- We will "galvanize the DoT into an honest to goodness selling unit" and "ensure that the endeavor would be fulfilling and profitable for Filipinos”.
Everything I read
and see about the Tourism effort makes sense. Corporate sense. One of the
things that clicks is the Tourism
web site. It is the opposite of the TESDA web site I panned a couple of
articles ago. It is clean, it is meaningful, it works.
Here's an example. I
wanted to find a bio of Mr. Jimenez to insert into this write-up. There is NO
BIO of Mr. Jimenez on the web site. This is so contrary to normal Filipino
thinking that a web site should be ripe with praise for the top man, the
important guy. I would guess that Mr. Jimenez figured out the web site was not
about him. It was about getting tourists to the Philippines.
On visiting the
site, you are not met with Mr. Jimenez's mug shot. You are met with a slide
show that splashes pretty scenes of the Philippines across your computer
screen. A lead story features an attractive tourist destination, including some
jewels we may not know about. And you are met with helpful links to DOT
accreditation, investment guidance, tourism training for businesses, sports
events in the Philippines, and so forth. It is a slick, first class job built
to sell the Philippines.
As you read of the
organization and plans of the Department of Tourism, you also get the impression
that this program is well organized and results-oriented.
Here's the tourism
organization:
- Office of the Secretary: The Office of the Secretary provides leadership, direction, and substance to the overall operations of the Department
- Tourism Promotions Sector: The Tourism Promotion Sector has the primary function of promoting the Philippines as a tourist destination domestically and internationally.
- Tourism Services and Regional Offices Sector: The Tourism Services and Regional Offices Sector is tasked to ensure the pleasant entry, stay, and exit of tourists.
- Planning, Product Development and Coordination: The Tourism Planning, Product Development and Coordination Sector is responsible for the formulation and updating of the Tourism Master Plan
- Internal Services Sector: The Internal Services Sector ensures the smooth and legal functioning of the operations of the Department
One piece of very
smart thinking in developing the organization is the recognition that the
Philippines is in some respects a land of red tape. Administrative policy
barriers could suffocate the best intents of the Tourism people. Mr. Jimenez
has an individual assigned specific responsibility for cutting through the red
tape.
Here are some key
plan elements. Do they make sense to you? They make extraordinary sense to me.
The "Destination Strategy" recognizes the Philippines has a lot of
jewels that need the polish that only money (investments for the long term) can
provide.
- Mission: The Department of Tourism (DOT) shall be the primary government agency charged with the responsibility to encourage, promote, and develop tourism as a major socio-economic activity to generate foreign currency and employment and to spread the benefits of tourism to both the private and public sector.
- Destination Strategy: To achieve the projected growth in tourist numbers and expenditures over the next decade, the Central Philippines will have to move to an investment-driven strategy.
- Tourism National Strategy Objectives: Formulate an integrated sustainable tourism management plan for Central Philippines, identifying viable critical environmental, infrastructure and community-based projects to link and integrate the tourism development of the area.
The plan is too
lengthy to replicate here, but this is a critical excerpt that shows the
ordering of priorities:
- 5.5 Product Development Policies: The main thrust of product development policy should be to upgrade and diversify the existing range of products available to the Philippines by:
- *focusing on doing one or two attractions well in each gateway location; creating at least one “must see” attraction close to each cluster/gateway;
- *improving access to, and information on, existing products;
- *improving the standard of existing tour products and programs;
- *encouraging the development of additional day visitor activities at destination areas;
- *improving the reliability of domestic transportation services; and
- *creating new resort, special interest tour products based on the unique competitive features of the Philippines.
The entire plan can
be found at this link: Tourism Master
Plan.
Who, exactly, is Mr.
Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr?
You have probably
seen little if him, but you have undoubtedly seen his work. He is 57 years old,
a University of the Philippines graduate from the College of Fine Arts. He has worked in advertising all his life, founding
his own agency in the late 1990's (Jimenez & Partners) and building it into
the largest agency in the Philippines by the time he left in 2009 to promote
the President. His wife Abby is still an executive at the agency, now called JimenezBasic. His client list has included
Jollibee, Selecta Ice Cream, Safeguard Soap, San Miguel
Beer, Cebu Pacific and Ivory Soap. Oh, and one guy named Aquino.
His daughter is a
fashion designer named Sassa.
Make note of that,
aspiring young people.
Only one child, not
10.
His father was a
noted labor lawyer and an uncle was a general in the Philippine resistance
during WW II, and later Ambassador to South Korea.
I like this man. He
thinks smart, and corporate. He goes on my "Far Out but Better than Good
Old Boys" list of presidential candidates for 2016.
I'm comfortable that
tourism is in good hands. First class hands.
