A six-part series showcasing the travel destinations in the Philippines is coming out in the National Geographic Channel, the government said yesterday.
Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said they intend to showcase and promote the country’s different destinations through various international networks.
An intensified promotional campaign is essential to lure foreign tourists to the Philippines, he added.
In the United Kingdom, 25 double-deck buses and 50 black cabs now sport a uniform design of the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” slogan and logo and different faces of the Philippines, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said.
Subway stations, on the other hand, feature images of the Ifugao rice terraces and the Puerto Princesa Underground River, both proclaimed as World Heritage Sites, the DOT added.
Jimenez said the timely execution of the ads has been deliberate and well studied.
“Imagine the gross impact of these ads,” he said.
Jimenez said London has a population of about 7.5 million and attracts around 15 million international visitors.
“We are generating awareness, not only among the British population, but also among visitors to the United Kingdom, rated number seven among the most visited countries in the world.”
Jimenez said the two-week advertising campaign in buses and underground railways coincides with the worldwide marketing campaign through CNN International.
The campaign through the London cabs will continue until early next year, he added.
Jimenez said the campaign would bring the opportunity to capture the millions of visitors attending the Queen’s Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics and the season 2012-2013 of the Fulham Football Club of the English Premier League, estimated to draw 690 million household viewers.
The London cabs come with a 30-minute digital ad which will feature the 30-seconder “It’s more fun in the Philippines” TVC and 15-seconder tarsier TVC recently launched worldwide via network giant CNN, he added.
Jimenez said the DOT is the very first national tourism organization to advertise through the taxis’ digital platform and these will be shown in the 1,400 units that Verifone Media owns.
“We will soon furnish these cabs with flyers to contain more fun information,” he said.
Different Philippine posters are also found at strategic stops near London’s tourist areas like Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham Court Road.
Vertical posters and escalator panels feature the underground river and rice terraces through the memes, “The Underground: More Fun in the Philippines” and “Stairway to Heaven: More Fun in the Philippines.”
The DOT said the UK is a major tourist market for the Philippines, being the top generator from this region. Last year, it ranked 9th overall with an unprecedented 104,000 arrivals, registering a 7.78 percent increase over the 2010 performance.
Jimenez expressed confidence that the country would be able to lure more tourists from the UK to visit the Philippines through the current publicity efforts and other promotional activities.
(Story courtesy of Philippine Star’s Mayen Jaymalin)
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