DOT launches national tourism blueprint

THE Aquino administration is planning to spend some P74 billion beginning this year in an effort to reach its targeted arrivals of some 10 million international, and 35.5 million domestic travelers by 2016.

The amount will be poured into infrastructure, improvement of tourist sites and marketing support, over a four-year period until 2016, according to the recently unveiled National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP).

As this developed, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said initial promotion efforts of his agency have already started bearing fruit. In the first quarter of 2012, inbound tourism jumped by 16 percent to 1.15 million. This, he told a gathering of industry stakeholders on Thursday, brings the agency closer to its 4.6 million arrivals target for the year.

The increase is the market’s “quick response to promotion initiatives,” he said: arrivals from China grew by 77 percent, Korea 16 percent, Taiwan 37 percent, Australia 18 percent, the United Kingdom 21 percent and Germany 18 percent.

Under the NTDP, about P50 billion will be spent by the government to build roads and bridges, according to Rolando Canizal, director for the Office of Tourism Planning, Research and Information Management of the Department of Tourism (DOT).

For this year, P3 billion has been allotted to construct roads and airports, and P17 billion in 2013, he told the BusinessMirror.

The NTDP was presented by the DOT on Thursday (May 3) at an agency-hosted parallel forum during the 45th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank.

The government investment under the NTDP, however, is only 29 percent of the P266-billion total investments needed by the tourism sector to reach its goal of increased visitor arrivals, and boost its contribution to the country’s total economic output.

Canizal explained that most of the investments, or P191 billion, under the master plan, would still have to be coughed up by the private sector.

“The balance comprises private-sector investment in hotels, resorts, leisure-entertainment-shopping, health and wellness, convention, event/exhibition, cruise and transportation facilities,” according to the NTDP.

An additional 50,867 hotel and resort units are being eyed for construction from 2012 to 2016.

During his welcome remarks at the forum, Jimenez said the plan lays out the strategies to be undertaken by the government to reach its tourist-arrivals targets.

Industry stakeholders, including representatives from the accommodations, transport, and conventions sectors, as well as travel agencies, attended the forum.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. unveils the National Tourism Development Plan, a P266-billion strategy aimed at increasing international tourist arrivals to 10 million, and domestic travelers to 35.5 million by 2016, at an agency-hosted forum on May 3, 2012. (DOT Photo)

The plan “cuts up” the country into 20 clusters, nine of which have been identified as priority clusters for investment and development, based on the “identification of secondary gateways as premier entry points” to these areas, explained Tourism Undersecretary Daniel Corpuz, for Tourism Planning and Promotions, during his presentation.

The nine priority clusters include Central Visayas, Metro Manila and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Central Luzon, Palawan, Western Visayas, Davao Gulf and Coast, Northern Mindanao, Bicol and Laoag-Vigan.

Corpuz noted that prior to the NTDP’s implementation, the goals of the tourism sector were hampered by “uncompetitive tourist destinations and products; limited flights and seat capacities, including the poor quality and limited capacity of international and domestic transportation and infrastructure destination, as well as other restrictions that have limited market access; and weak public-sector tourism governance and human-resources development policies and practices.”

To overcome these challenges, he said, the DOT will undertake strategic directions and programs—such as the development and marketing of competitive tourist products and destinations; improvement of market access, connectivity and destination infrastructure; and improvement of tourism institutional, governance and industry manpower capabilities.

The DOT said the implementation of the NTDP would raise the contribution of the tourism sector to 8.1 percent of the gross domestic product from the current 5 percent; and “directly employ 6.8 million that will account for 17 percent of total employment.”

Most of these tourism workers will come from the poor sector, based on the cluster destination framework of the master plan.

In addition, according to the NTDP, the planned investments versus the projected increase in tourist expenditures will result in an economic internal rate of return of 21.05 percent, and a net present value of P24.1 billion.

The NTDP cluster development plans will be undertaken in close coordination with relevant government agencies like the departments of Public Works and Highways, and of Transportation and Communications, as well as local government units.

Meanwhile, Jimenez defended the agency’s slogan—“It’s more fun in the Philippines”—against critics who said that the problems of the sector couldn’t be solved with just a tagline.

“Those who say that have limited knowledge of the persuasive power of words, of communications,” he said.

In his speech, he said the slogan “makes a compelling argument for choosing the Philippines as one of the world’s top tourist destinations. It is rooted in our competitive advantage, a ‘deliverable,’ where Filipinos put genuine value in being able to participate to make their guests feel at home.”

It is second nature to Filipinos, he said, “to be hospitable and seize every opportunity to make guests’ every visit to his home successful.”

The slogan has “energized” the system and “contains one thing that works so well in an open competition…it is the truth. It is about Filipinos and their infectious love of things the world tends to forget‚family, friends and communion with God and Nature,” he said.

The Aquino administration has just undertaken a P63-million advertising campaign over CNN. The DOT, and the departments of Budget and Management, Finance and Trade and Industry, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will shoulder the funding for the campaign. (See DOT starts intl tourism ad campaign on CNN.)

The DOT said the 30-second spots on CNN cost about P19,000 each. The rollouts of the ads was timed for the ADB meet and CNN’s special Eye on the Philippines programming. It will run in key international markets until August.

The 30-second ad, inspired by the memes generated by the slogan, is aided by music from Boney M’s “Gotta Go Home,” whose rights were secured by the DOT for worldwide use.

The agency also clarified in a press statement that Apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas was not involved in the ad soundtrack.

“However, [he] is a very strong supporter of Philippine tourism as he reaches out to Filipino-Americans with various projects,” it added.

With close to 4 million tourist arrivals in 2011, the country still ranks way behind its neighbors—Malaysia (25 million), Thailand (19 million), Singapore (13.2 million), Indonesia (7.6 million) and Vietnam (6 million).

(Originally published in the BusinessMirror, May 6, 2012.)

DOT starts intl tourism ad campaign on CNN

THE Aquino administration will spend about P63 million for its initial tourism- advertising campaign over CNN, government sources said.

The Philippines started its international brand-awareness campaign with a series of TV ads with the cable news network.

The first ad, a 30-seconder, uses photos and ideas created by the public, which was invited by the Department of Tourism (DOT) to produce their own take on the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” slogan it launched in January.

The ad is set to the popular dance vibe “Barbra Streisand” by Duck Sauce, a collaboration of DJs Armand van Helden and A-Trak, which riffs on another artist, Boney M’s “Gotta go home” song. The ad also features apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas, rapping “It’s more fun in the Philippines” within the tune. Apl.de.ap, or Allan Pineda Lindo Jr., hails from the Philippines, and has been creating songs for the BEP that incorporate Filipino lyrics.



A shorter version of the TV commercial, just 15 seconds, features a tarsier—known for its huge eyes—clinging to a tree branch and looking at the camera, with the sounds of the jungle playing in the background. The video ends with the caption: “Staring contests. More fun in the Philippines.”



Both TVCs have gone viral on the Internet and social-networking sites, a tack adopted by the DOT to enable the citizens to “own” the campaign, agency officials said.

The ads were produced by advertising giant BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines, which bested seven other agencies last year in a bid for a P5.6-million brand awareness campaign for the Philippines.

The country hopes to attract 10 million visitors by 2016, when President Aquino steps down from office. With close to 4 million tourist arrivals in 2011, the country still ranks way behind its neighbors—Malaysia (25 million), Thailand (19 million), Singapore (13.2 million), Indonesia (7.6 million), and Vietnam (6 million).

In an interview, Domingo Ramon C. Enerio III, DOT assistant secretary for tourism planning and promotions, said, “many agencies participated in the funding requirement” for the TV ads currently running on CNN.

These agencies, he said, include the Departments of Budget and Management, Finance, Trade and Industry, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, aside from the DOT.

The collaborative effort among the different agencies, government sources noted, shows the seriousness of the Aquino administration in using the tourism sector to generate more income for the country.

With a sluggish manufacturing sector and export industry, owing to the slowdown in purchases by its major markets in the West, the country is hard-pressed to expand its economic output to cope with its burgeoning population.

At present, the economy is supported by billions of dollars in remittances from overseas Filipino workers, whose families are driving the consumption growth in the country.

In 2011 however, economic growth slipped to a feeble 3.7 percent, a substantial drop from the stunning 7.6-percent growth in 2010, as the government failed to invest in infrastructure and other projects on concerns of continued corruption within agencies.

While Enerio declined to reveal the total budget outlay for the TV commercials, government sources told the BusinessMirror it would be “around $1 million to $1.5 million.” The agencies, however, have yet to be informed of their respective shares.

This is still far below the advertising budgets of other Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Tourism promotion budgets of these countries range from $200 million to $1 billion annually. The DOT alone has a meager operating budget of P2 billion annually.

Earlier, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said the international campaign would also include billboards in major tourism markets, brochures and other collaterals. These are scheduled to be released by June.

Enero said the ads “will run [on CNN] all the way up to August in the US, Asia Pacific and Europe/Middle East.”

The DOT said the memes used in the ads were donated to the agency by several well-known local photographers like George Tapan and Gutsy Tuason. (The others who donated their memes were: Joey Rico, Abby Yao, La Venta 2012, Henson Wongaiham, Company of Ateneo Dancers, Darwin Dumaraos and Bottle School.)

The ads are being concentrated this week as CNN airs its special “Eye on the Philippines” programming and in time with the 45th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank Board of Governors, to be held from May 2 to 5 at the PICC. Enerio said the ads will run with the same frequency on CNN “until next week.”

Over 4,300 delegates from across the globe are expected to participate in the ADB meeting. The meeting, which focuses on “inclusive growth through better governance and partnerships,” will be attended by ministers and senior government officials, business leaders, representatives of other international financial institutions, and civil society representatives, a bank press statement said.

The meeting will be held “to discuss challenges and opportunities to ensure future growth reaches all members of society in Asia and the Pacific, where impressive economic forecasts often mask the reality that the region is still home to the majority of the world’s poor,” it added.

It is the second time the Philippines is hosting the annual meeting of the ADB, which is headquartered in the Ortigas central business district. The last time the country hosted it was in 2003.

Meanwhile, DOT Spokesman Benito Bengzon Jr. told the BusinessMirror that the agency has secured the rights to the song “Barbra Streisand” produced by Sony Music Entertainment. “We are still negotiating on the price but we already have the clearance to use it [worldwide].”

According to music industry sources, fees paid to use music especially for promotions vary depending on the market and the artist. One source said if used just in the Philippines, for example, “the minimum rate would be around $5,000.”

According to Enerio, the ads will have “different feeds and frequencies. This week Europe has 81 spots, Asia-Pacific 305, and North America, 153.”

Independent research showed a 30-second ad on CNN costs at least $25 per thousand viewers. The network is seen in more than 280 million households across the globe.

The Atlanta-based cable TV news giant is featuring the Philippines in a series of news stories, features and videos for its regular “Eye on” programming.

CNN began its “Eye On the Philippines” series on its web site on April 26 by posting a brief history of the country in photos, basic facts and figures in graphs, a feature on the newly opened Mind Museum at Fort Bonifacio, the search for the next boxing superstar after Manny Pacquiao and an opinion piece from New York-based Filipino journalist Sheila Coronel on fighting corruption under the Aquino administration.

CNN correspondent Andrew Stevens also interviewed the brothers Jaime Augusto and Fernando Zobel de Ayala for the network’s Talk Asia program. The brothers discussed what it was like growing up in their illustrious family, which founded the conglomerate Ayala Corp., and their business philosophy.

Also on Talk Asia, CNN news anchor Anna Coren will be speaking with President Aquino. In a press statement sent to the BusinessMirror, the network said Mr. Aquino would be discussing opportunities and challenges currently facing the Philippines, as well as some of the experiences that have shaped him on a personal level.

Other features in the network’s “Eye on” series focuses on prima ballerina Lisa Macuja and Ballet Manila, the call-center industry, anti-piracy training, reproductive health, as well as in-depth reports on child labor and poverty.

According to CNN, its series on the Philippines will run until May 14.

Although long considered a shopping mecca as well as a beach lovers’ and divers’ paradise, the growth in tourist arrivals to the Philippines is often hampered by the country’s lack of adequate infrastructure, inadequate direct air connections and peace and order issues.

In August 2010, for example, a disgruntled policeman took hostage a busload of Chinese and Hong Kong tourists. The bungled rescue attempt by local police enforcers—covered by international news networks—led to the deaths of a number of the hostages. This resulted in an immediate decline in visitors from both countries. But the numbers have recovered since.

(UPDATE) : The DOT clarifies that their 30-sec. ad uses Boney M's "Gotta Go Home," not Duck Sauce's "Barbra Streisand." Also, Apl.de.ap did not participate in the making of the ad soundtrack. Subsequent interviews with DOT officials also indicated that each ad spot costs P19,000.)

(This piece was originally published in the BusinessMirror, May 2, 2012. Videos from YouTube.)

No musical instruments?

Use your iPhone!

This was the band featured by Jeanne Moss in CNN (subsequently picked up by ANC). Very creative group of guys. And very catchy song, actually.

I don't know what app they were using but if you've been a long-time Mac user like me, you know that each Macbook comes with a Garage Band app that enables you to create your own songs, and play musical instruments therein. You can also record the same after and turn your songs into mp3's.



According to Jeanne Moss, Apple has already been in touch w/ Atomic Tom's record label to discuss some future projects. Coolness. Oh yeah, that guy playing the "guitar" is unmistakeably Pinoy. Woo-hoo! ;p

Another inspiring story

BULLIED by teen gang members as a child, Efren Penaflorida and his team of youth volunteers help kids move away from a life of violence and bullying through education.

"For the past 12 years, Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom.

Stocked with books, pens, tables and chairs, his Dynamic Teen Company recreates a school setting in unconventional locations such as the cemetery and municipal trash dump." (This is his story.)

Pls. vote for Efren to help him win CNN Hero of the Year award.

Interesting reads

SPENT most of the day reading and picked up some entertaining bits. Enjoy!

On CNN something nice about the Philippines for once:

"Taxis are the best way to negotiate the city, and they're cheap and plentiful, but it's worth jumping into the back of a crazily colorful jeepney at least once, just for the experience." (Click here for the rest.)

Only an iReport but at least as Pangs says, CNN pa din. And I'm glad it mentions Apartment 1B, one my fave restos in the Salcedo Village area, and the Saturday Salcedo Market. Too bad no mention of sungit Lola who makes the best kuhol sa gata there! Haha.

To those who said it wouldn't happen, eto na!

"The 52-year-old senator, dressed in a striped light-blue, buttoned-down shirt over black trousers, sang an old Tagalog love song to Korina. Comedians Tado and Jason Gainza accompanied Mar on the guitar.

"The 44-year-old Korina, in a light-bronze sleeveless dress, joined in the singing. ‘To keep Mar on-key,' explained a family friend who attended. Epy repeatedly reminded the audience, ‘He’s a senator [not a singer].’ " (Click here. Photo from Mar and Korina's blog.)

And guess who this cutie is?


He already has the confidence of a star even at 12 y.o. Click here to find out.

Obama inaugural via CNN/Facebook

FIRST off, this application was a way cooler gimmick than CNN's hologram interviews during election night in November. BUT, the amount of traffic to the CNN Live site caused some problems to some international viewers leading to some screen freezing. (I had to go to the TV finally to watch the proceedings there, but kept the Mac still tuned to CNN.)

(A shot of the crowd. The news reports said about 2 million visitors were expected to watch the inaugural. Check out the comments on the FB window. Just click to enlarge)

GENERALLY, it was a nice experience with most my friends still up and updating their statuses in reaction to what we were watching onscreen. I think I became too obsessed, that it seemed that I was updating my status every 15 minutes. (I counted more than 10 status updates since I started watching online at 7pm.) What was cool about the app was I could read the reactions of other people around the world as well, while they too watched the events unfolding onscreen.

(Joe Biden being sworn in as Vice President. I don't have Obama's actual swearing in as my Internet service decided to freeze that moment. Erg.)

It was a nice experiment for CNN and Facebook. Very innovative. Anyhoo, here are other screen shots of Barack Obama's inaugural via CNN/Facebook right up to the Bush couple's departure from the capitol. (I just had to make sure Dubya would leave.)

(Obama's speech: 'Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.')

(Special guests were the Tuskugee Airmen, the first African-Americans integrated into the U.S. military.)

(The Obamas and the Bidens walk the Bushes out to their waiting chopper.)

(43 waves goodbye to his fans...ngek may natira pa ba?)

(And we have lift-off folks! Bye-bye Bushie! Woop! glad that's over!)

* * * *
Meanwhile, I thought Obama's inaugural address was great. It was brief, straight to the point, and expectedly, called on all Americans to unite, and not to look at their differences as a hindrance to doing great things. He also outlined his main program of government: emphasis on scientific research, health insurance reform, addressing the economic crisis, and a push for diplomacy to settle international disputes.

I liked this part, because it kinda addresses our conditions here in the Philippines as well:

"What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them— that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government."

Read the full text of President Obama's inaugural address here.

(Online banner of New York Times tonight.)

Sure I didn't finish my work tonight, but I didn't dare miss this event. It was great to be part of history...even if it was just by watching TV or the computer feed. Congratulations U.S. of A! The world looks to you again for leadership and greatness.

9/11...seven years after

WHERE were you when two planes struck the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001?

I was in the office, at Manila Standard, past 9 pm, advancing a special page so I wouldn't have to rush about the next day trying to beat the paper's deadline for the page to go to the printers. As is the usual in most newspaper offices, the TV was switched on, and stuck on CNN.

While buried nose deep in the stories I was editing, I heard a commotion in front of the TV set with most of our late-night staff chattering loudly about. "Ma'am me nag-crash na eroplano sa World Trade Center (Ma'am an airplane crashed into the World Trade Center)," was the response of one of the staff, when I asked what was happening.

So I approached the group and watched as black smoke was spiralling from one of the Twin Towers, a familiar landmark in New York. (It annoyed me some months after that when I had visited New York, I didn't even bother to tour the World Trade Center, as I wasn't much of a fan of skyscrapers really. I was more engrossed in the museums, Barnes & Noble, and watching plays on Broadway.)

Then CNN replayed the video of what looked like small plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers. I swear, my nape and arms got all clammy as a single thought popped into my head, "terrorists." I don't know what it was that made me immediately think it, because there have been accidents in the past of small-seater planes crashing into buildings. But maybe because it was New York City, and it was a beautiful sunny day, with the grey-colored Twin Towers standing tall in contrast against the azure sky. It could have been just another lovely day in the city, but cynic that I am, I just knew it couldn't be that perfect.

Soon after, as I continued monitoring CNN, another plane crashed into the other building. It looked like a jet. My hairs just stood on end, as I watched in horror like the other staff. This was real. It confirmed my notion that this was a terrorist attack. I immediately conferred with our night editor to remat the front page of next day's paper. Then our publisher and editor-in-chief came rushing in a few minutes after to oversee the paper's revision. It was back to business for us. As the night wore on, news about similar plane crashes came in, one in Pennsylvania, another at the Pentagon. We gathered all the wire stories and photos on the crashes. It was going to be a long night for us at the office.

When I finally got home, still fully wired from what had just happened, I switched on the TV set and tuned in to CNN. I just sat on my bed, transfixed at the images of the buildings, billowing smoke, and people falling out the windows. Not long after, the Twin Towers just collapsed like a house of cards. And I just sobbed in frustration, anger, and sadness. I prayed for those who died from the attacks, and beseeched the Lord's protection on those of us still living.

Seven years after, as I look back at the photos and watch the special news reports reflecting on that dreadful day, there is still a catch in my throat. More than 2,900 people died that day, most of the victims' bodies were never found. These tragedies may not have happened here in the Philippines, but we have all been affected by those terrorist acts. Our lives, habits, and customs changed almost instantly after that fateful day. We are reminded of 9/11 every time we go to the mall, ride the rail, or travel by plane, arrive in another foreign land.

Despite the heightened security during these dangerous times we're in, we are still here, soldiering on, and moving forward. That takes courage. And I am thankful that despite 9/11, we have not lost our nerve for living.