DOT Philippines Unveils “Love the Philippines”

MANILA – After 11 years of “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” the Department of Tourism (DOT) has launched a new campaign and slogan to promote the Philippines to travelers and tourists. The catchphrase – “Love the Philippines.”

“The campaign Love the Philippines is not a mere branding campaign, but rather a call to action to every Filipino citizen to remember the beauty of our country, to honor our past, and to look forward to the future armed with the virtues, (and) values of being a Filipino,” shared Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, during the launch of the new slogan at DOT’s 50th-anniversary celebration at the Manila Hotel.

Almost one year ago, the Marcos administration shared its plans of coming up with a new way to showcase the “Filipino brand.” Today, people can now see it through DOT’s latest campaign to promote the Philippines to visitors.

As of mid-may of 2023, the Philippines’ total number of visitor arrivals hit the 2 million mark, the highest since re-opening borders post-COVID-19. With renewed hope for the country’s tourism market, this push aims to bring more buzz around visits to the Philippines.

The branding retains the same custom-made font, “Barabara,” which follows the signage typography of most jeepneys in the country. “It’s known already all over the world, and so we capitalize on its success,” Secretary Frasco told reporters. “We will continue to market the Philippines as fun all over the world, but we will also articulate that the Philippines has so much more to offer in addition to fun – we are honoring our culture, our history, our heritage, our people, our flavors, and all our other tourism offerings.”

The secretary for tourism also shared how the new slogan aims to recognize natural assets, the country’s long history, its rich culture, and diversity. The campaign draws on the word “love,” which the creators, DDB Group Philippines, shared is a theme that comes in high volume globally. It’s also one that travelers associate with the Philippines when sharing positive sentiments.

Frasco expressed hope that the new slogan would sustain interest and bring attention to places not necessarily highlighted in DOT’s typical branding campaign. “While fun remains a positive theme and certainly part of the Pinoy DNA, there’s less volume of mentions,” explained Marie Adriano, marketing firm DDB Group Philippines’ brand and strategic planner.

The new branding also aims to help strengthen the government’s bid to make the Philippines a “tourism powerhouse” in Southeast Asia, as communicated in the National Tourism Development Plan for 2023 to 2028.