DOT cautions stakeholders not to be complacent

CEBU, Philippines - While the Philippines is confident on its strong brand equity in tourism, the Department of Tourism cautions industry stakeholders not to be complacent as the competition trail is becoming more slippery.

DOT assistant secretary Benito "Bong" Bengzon reminded tourism stakeholders during the Tourism and Investment Forum organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and held at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, that the neighboring countries in Asia have set their eyes on the Philippines, and that improvement in the competitiveness in tourism skills, services is crucial in the industry.

"Our neighbors are not sitting still. Asia Pacific as a tourism market is expected to grow faster in the next few years. For the Philippines, we need to sustain and improve further our competitive advantage as a global tourism player," said Bengzon, who also attributed the success of the country's tourism industry largely to the effective introduction of the famous branding slogan "It's More Fun in the Philippines."

According to Bengzon there is a need to create more positive stories about the Philippines considering that the government is spending billions of pesos for its promotion.

"We need to build more positive stories through social media to strengthen our travel image," he said urging Filipinos that when taking pictures of their travel, "we must also include simple facts like where to go, what to do, and how much it costs, and not just post selfies of ourselves,"

Part of DOT's continuing effort to heighten the effectiveness of the "It's More Fun In the Philippines" branding slogan, Bengzon said the agency is directing its focus on selling or promoting specific destinations, through destination-oriented videos of top destinations in the country starting with Boracay and Davao. Cebu's video edition has just been completed.

DOT has officially released campaign videos of Boracay and Davao and recently, Manila. Bengzon urged other key tourism sites to come up with their own version.

Aside from continuous brand awareness, Bengzon emphasized the need to raise the country's comparative advantage in other product offerings.

Bengzon however admitted that while the Philippines is trying to position itself as one of the top choices for vacation destination, it is also equally trying to solve the concerns that hinder the tourism industry growth, these are among others, eradicating the presence of street beggars, traffic congestion and maintaining cleanliness.

He said that the Philippines is also expecting a large number of inbound tourists from the ASEAN starting next year, specifically the growth of "first time travelers" from the region such as Thailand and Indonesia. (FREEMAN)