DOT targets over 1 million tourists in 1st quarter, 2014

THE Department of Tourism (DOT) has projected “over 1 million” foreign visitors by the end of the first quarter this year, as it intensifies its marketing efforts for the Philippines in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

This was the optimistic prediction of Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. even as he announced the agency’s visitor arrivals target for 2014 at 6 million, down from the 6.8 million target the agency officially uses for budgeting purposes.

The Philippines has missed its visitors’ targets in the past two years owing to diplomatic issues, political skirmishes in the south and natural calamities, which have discouraged the arrival of more foreign tourists.

In an interview on the sidelines of the Philippine Economic Briefing, entitled “Enhancing Resilience to Sustain Inclusive Growth,” at the Philippine International Convention Center on Tuesday (March 18), Jimenez expressed confidence that some 500,000 foreign visitors arrived in January and February this year.

The first quarter of the year usually brings in foreign tourists, especially for the Yuletide-New Year holiday, as well as the Chinese New Year. Last year the Philippines attracted 1.15 million visitors in the first quarter alone.

The DOT chief said his agency is intensifying the Philippines’s exposure in markets, such as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia, India and the Middle East.

This is aside from the DOT’s new marketing tack to promote the Philippines and its major provincial destinations in the European market.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror in January, Tourism Assistant Secretary for Market Development Benito Bengzon Jr. said: “For 2014, we have identified new opportunity markets in Europe, such as France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Spain and Russia. Through a strong market development push, we hope to generate more than 250,000 arrivals from these markets, with France and Russia expected to provide about 50,000 each. Together with existing key markets in Europe, such as the United Kingdom and Germany, we hope to generate a total of over half-a-million visitors from Europe this year.” (Click "DOT ‘sees’ 5.7M tourists in 2014; more Europeans eyed," BusinessMirror, Jan. 11, 2014.)

Meanwhile, Jimenez said the agency will also be implementing “tactical campaigns” for Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

“The Philippines’s is Singapore’s value extension, especially when we become the destination of cruise lines that are docked in Singapore. That is why we are working closely with the Singapore Tourism Board and cruise-line companies, such as Carnival Cruises, Genting World [Star Cruises], Royal Caribbean International, etc., on this,” he explained.

While Chinese tourists continue to flock to the Philippines for rest and recreation, diplomatic issues between both countries continue to put a damper on their arrival.

Similarly, Hong Kong’s recent visa restrictions on travel to the region affecting Philippine government officials indicate the continuing undercurrent of tension between both countries, stemming from the botched rescue of Hong Kong tourists in 2010, and the Philippine government’s refusal to apologize for it.

Chinese visitors accounted for 9.11-percent market share of the 4.7 million total tourists to the Philippines last year; Singapore was 3.74 percent; and Hong Kong 2.69 percent.

Jimenez’s optimism is also shaped by the fact that the Philippines is looking to add at least 26 new inbound flights that would generate some 10,404 additional seats per week.

These new inbound flights and additional flight frequencies could come from Indonesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Brazil and New Zealand, which have conducted bilateral air negotiations with the Philippines recently.

During the economic briefing, Jimenez stressed the importance of developing competitive tourism products and destinations, which can fuel inclusive growth through generating quality jobs and business opportunities in host communities.

“The merits of visiting the Philippines have been noticed by publications such as Condé Nast and the New York Times in the past year. Our international tourist receipts have grown by 15.38 percent in 2013. However, we are not going to rest on our laurels, but continue to develop competitive tourism products and destinations so that we can augment and sustain this rapid growth well into the future.”

(This piece was originally published in the BusinessMirror, Jan. 11, 2014.)

               

Chinese travel agencies cancel trip to Philippines

SHANGHAI -- (UPDATE - 4:12 p.m.) Chinese travel agencies have suspended tourist packages to the Philippines and promised refunds to customers who have booked trips, Chinese state media reported Thursday, as tensions over disputed islands in the South China Sea escalated.

Companies including Ctrip.com and Beijing International Travel Service have halted all tours to the Philippines and say they will not accept bookings until the situation improves, Chinese media reported.

China is the Philippines' fourth major source of visitors, with 96,455 arrivals recorded in the first quarter of this year, a 77.53 percent increase over the 54,332 arrivals in the same period last year.

The Department of Tourism said it had not been officially informed of the plans of the Chinese travel agencies to suspend tours to the Philippines.

In a text message through his office, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said: “As far as the DOT is concerned, we have not been officially informed of the advisory [from China travel agencies].” (Click InterAksyon.com for the rest. Published on May 10, 2012.)

Tourism-related stocks dip after news of Chinese tour suspensions

MANILA, Philippines -- Tourism-related stocks took a dip in mid-afternoon trade, shaken by the news that travel agencies in China are suspending tours to the Philippines.

As of 3:15 p.m., share price of Bloomberry Resorts Inc. fell 4.21 percent to P9.18; AGI, operator of Resorts World, was down 5.55 percent to P12.94; Waterfront Philippines Inc. was off 10.43 percent to P0.43; and Cebu Pacific dipped 2 percent to P68.59.

News of the suspension of the Chinese tours came a day before scheduled worldwide protests by Filipinos against China’s continued intrusion into disputed territory in the South China Sea, which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.

China has also issued a travel advisory warning its citizens against travel to the Philippines.

“Obviously their main business will be affected,” Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance, said of the dip.

“China’s contribution to overall tourism in the country is quite significant,” Del Castillo said. “But the escalation tensions in the disputed territory are obviously brought on also by the stories in the media of the actions taking place here.” (Originally published in InterAksyon.com, May 10, 2012.)

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.)

ADB meet to help sell PH tourism

MANILA, Philippines- The country will have a chance to put its best tourism foot forward when the annual meeting of the board of governors of the Asian Development Bank is held on May 2-5 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila.

In a speech before the Makati Business Club Thursday, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez announced that international news network CNN will do a series of features on the Philippines as it covers the prestigious economic meeting. The meeting is expected to attract some 4,000 participants from around the world.

“The country is hosting the ADB and we’re determined to make the most out of it. It is an opportunity to dramatize that the Philippines has turned the corner in more ways than one. So the CNN will cast an eye on the Philippines during the ADB meeting and will focus on the achievements of the Filipinos, and include tourism spots,” Jimenez asserted. (Read the rest of my piece in InterAksyon, the online news portal of TV5. My piece was originally published on March 29, 2012.)

Ayala unit boosts fresh water supply to Boracay

Boracay Island as seen from the air.

WITH thousands of holiday revelers expected to converge on the tiny resort island of Boracay this Holy Weekend, they can be assured of better access to clean, fresh water with the recent inauguration of a P126-million submarine water pipeline.

The 1-kilometer pipeline constructed by the Boracay Island Water Co., (BIWC) a subsidiary of the Manila Water Co. Inc., runs from Caticlan to Boracay, and will augment the current 13-year-old pipeline which supplies water tothe island from the mainland Malay town in Aklan.

Manila Water is a unit of the publicly-listedconglomerate Ayala Corp., and commonly known as the East Zone water concessionaire of Metro Manila.

During the inauguration ceremony for the pipeline on Friday, March 30, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. lauded BIWC for the improved water services and wastewater management in Boracay since the company began operating there in 2009.

He said 96 percent of the island population on the island now enjoys round-the-clock water supply, with the quality of its tap water 100-percent compliant with the strict criteria set out by the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water.

“I salute the partnership between Boracay Water, the local government and the [Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority] for turning things around and making things happen here in Boracay. As the premier tourist destination in the country, we need to ensure that the basic services such as water and wastewater services for the locals as well as tourists are well-provided. This is also ensuring the sustainability of the island paradise for the years to come,” he said.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez inaugurates a P126-million, one-kilometer pipeline in Boracay on March 30. Also at the launch are (from left) Malay Mayor John Yap, Aklan Rep. Florencio Miraflores, Jimenez, DOT Region 6 Tourism Council chairman Vicky Ramos, TIEZA general manager Mark Lapid, Manila Water president and CEO Gerardo Ablaza Jr. and BIWC president Virgilio Rivera. (Photo from the Philippine Star)

The BIWC has been upgrading the wastewater management system of the island and hopes to reach its 52-percent target coverage by the end of the year from the current 31-percent coverage. The company’s P78-million project, inaugurated in April 2011, aims to improve the island’s treatment plant located in Barangay Balabag to a world-class facility, and ensure the treated wastewater being flushed back into natural waters is within the strictest environmental standards that will keep its beach pristine.

Last August, BIWC received a P500-million loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines and Security Bank and Trust Corp. to finance its capital expenditures for its projects in Boracay.

The loan, obtained through the Philippine Water Revolving Fund, has the option to be increased to P1 billion. The PWRF is a joint project between the national government, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The fund was set up to help the country meet its own economic and human development targets under the Millennium Development Goals, a United Nations initiative, by 2015.

Boracay Island is the most popular tourist destination in the Philippines with 908,875 visiting in 2011, up 16.6 percent from 2010. In December 2011 alone, arrivals shot up by 34 percent from 2010 figures, generating P1.43 billion in tourism receipts for the government.

From only one airline serving the destination in 2006, now all major Philippine carriers as well as chartered international flights are bringing in local and foreign tourists direct to Kalibo, the capital of Aklan, or Caticlan, the jump-off point to Boracay.


Last year business tycoon Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corp. also funded the renovation of the Caticlan airport terminal, while its main runway is now being lengthened to accommodate jets.

Unfortunately, the hordes of tourists over the years have put a strain on the island’s fragile ecosystem. In 1997,the Department of Environment and Natural Resources declared the waters around unsafe for swimming as its tests yielded the dreaded E. coli bacteria, which is usually found in fecal matter.

This pushed the resort owners in Boracay to adopt stringent measures to help clean the island and prevent the contamination of its waters.

(My piece was originally published on April 3, 2012 in the BusinessMirror.)

Infrastructure budget to support tourism

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. shares his agency's development plans for 2012 in his keynote speech during the Philippine Tour Operators Association’s (PHILTOA) 1st General Membership Meeting for 2012 at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City on February 8, 2012. The gathering drew various representatives from the tourism sector, as well as key personalities such as Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos and Travel Time host Susan Calo Medina.

THE P128-billion government infrastructure plan for 2012 includes the construction or renovation of important tourism facilities that will help the country eventually attain its goal of attracting 10 million tourists by 2016.

In his keynote address at the first general membership meeting for 2012 of the Philippine Tour Operators Association at the Hotel InterContinental in Makati City, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said accessibility to major tourist destinations is one of the key focuses of the National Tourism Development Plan. “This will be improved with the frontloading of [expenditures] for transportation and infrastructure projects such as the upgrading of major hubs for both sea and air. For the first time, the bulk for infrastructure [spending] in 2012 will be for tourism.”

Among the major tourism projects are the upgrade of the Puerto Princesa airport to an international airport “which can receive 747s someday,” and in the medium-term, the improvement of airports in Mactan, Cebu; Panglao, Bohol; and Kalibo, Aklan as well. The infrastructure program also includes the implementation of the North Luzon and South Luzon expressway ‘’connector projects,” and the upgrade of sea ports which would encourage major cruise lines to dock in Manila at a time when these companies “are beginning to look at Asia again.”

Jimenez also disclosed ongoing negotiations with Singapore tourism officials to create a “Sunshine Trail” that will bring tourists in Singapore to the various tourist destinations in the Philippines. He said the Changi airport already serves as a major gateway to the Philippines, “all we have to do is pull the value out of the Singapore market and bring it to us.” He said Singapore will be spending for this marketing effort, “atin lang ’yung beach.”

Underscoring that the government is already doing its job by financing tourism infrastructure projects and embarking on a marketing campaign, the DOT chief also urged tour operators to support these efforts by offering “competitive” travel packages to the country.

“We must review our pricing. Our new marketing slogan is based on a simple word, ‘fun.’ But how much fun is our fun? Competitive ba tayo? ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’ is not just a slogan, it’s a competitive marketing strategy. So we should ensure for example, that a boat ride here costs the same as boat rides in other places,” Jimenez said.

One of the more common complaints even by local tourists is that it is more expensive to travel within the Philippines than to go abroad. Also, foreign travelers have noted that fees in some tourist destinations like environmental fees and user’s taxes seem indiscriminately charged.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Philtoa President Cesar Cruz expressed optimism that the 4.2-million tourist arrivals targetted by the DOT this year “is definitetly achievable. As the secretary himself said, whatever happens, it’s still more fun in the Philippines. Just keep the positive attitude on the part of the stakeholders, tour operators, hoteliers and accommodations sector—we keep focused on that [the slogan], and we will not be distracted by these disasters which also happen everywhere.”

“Ultimately, any campaign will only be as good as the product,” he said. “We believe that community-based tourism projects and products, coupled with experiential activities such as eco adventures and cultural thematic tours, will be the way to go if the country wants to meet its projections.”

Philippine Tour Operators Association president Cesar Cruz expresses optimism for the tourism industry's growth this year during Philtoa 1st General Membership Meeting for 2012 at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City held on February 8.

On the issue of offering competitive prices as per the DOT chief’s suggestion, Cruz said: “We will make an extra effort to review our rates and make them more competitive. But at the end of the day, what is reality is the law of supply and demand. We really must come up with the extra capacity to be able to come up with these pro-rated accommodations.”

During an open forum after his speech, Jimenez also revealed more positive developments that would boost tourist arrivals in the country.

He said he was hopeful that the Federal Aviation Authority would soon revert the country to Category 1 safety status, which would in turn, encourage the European Union to lift its ban on Philippine carriers. “We’re currently awaiting the [FAA] audit. That in itself is a good signal because you can’t be scheduled for an audit if you’ve not passed the pre-audit. So we’ll get that audit at the close of the first quarter.” The country is currently under FAA’s Category 2 status, which prevents Philippine carriers from expanding its routes in the US.

He added that a legislative bill is currently being crafted that would eliminate the common carriers tax charged on foreign carriers. The Department of Finance earlier bucked plans to eliminate the CCT as this would result in revenue losses. “We’re finally gaining ground because even the DOF is part of the new attitude that competitive pricing is more fun.”

Moves are also under way, he said, to remove Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) charges as well. “There will be three workshifts to discourage overtime pay among immigration and customs staff. They will be paid a night differential instead, with the cost to be paid by the government, not the airlines.”

The country will also benefit from the Single Asean Visa that Asean tourism officials are currently working on. “We will make that a reality soon, maybe in the next year and a half. So anyone can walk into a Singaporean or Malaysian embassy anywhere in the world and get an Asean visa. This will enable him to automatically go to the Philippines. This is important for the European, US and Chinese markets,” Jimenez said.

For their part, members of the Philtoa also asked the DOT chief to look into new regulations by the management of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport that prevent travel agency representatives from personally meeting their arriving clients, and disallow transiting tourists from leaving the airport terminals and going on short city tours.

Philtoa has also adopted the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign for the 23rd Philippine Travel Mart, a travel trade show featuring Philippine tourism destinations and hugely discounted tour packages. An annual event of the Philtoa, the PTM will be held from August 10 to 12 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Organizers of the PTM project an increase in both the number of participants and visitors this year. Last year’s expo recorded some 77,000 individuals in foot traffic and generating gross sales of some P33 million.

(My piece was originally published in the BusinessMirror on Feb. 9, 2012. Photos courtesy Geiser Maclang PR)

BBDO wins bid to craft new PH tourism slogan

The Department of Tourism has chosen BBDO Guerrero | Proximity Philippines as the winning bidder in its P5.6-million "Philippine Brand Campaign focusing on Tourism" project.

However, no new tourism slogan was announced by the DOT, adding in a press statement that "further development of BBDO Guerrero's concept is underway, and the first iterations of the new campaign will emerge in the course of the first half of 2012."

A source at the DOT said Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. decided to defer the launch of the new slogan due to the calamity wrought by Typhoon Sendong.

Questions have risen, however, about just how fast the new brand campaign can be rolled out due to the limited funds of the DOT, which has an annual budget of only P2 billion. (For the rest, click InterAksyon.)

DOT to decide new slogan this week (UPDATED)

THE Department of Tourism is currently weighing the proposals of eight short-listed advertising agencies that submitted bids for the P5.6-million Philippines brand campaign project.

The agency’s Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) has until Wednesday to decide on the winning slogan and brand campaign from those proposed by eight of the country’s leading advertising agencies, according to Tourism Assistant Secretary Domingo Ramon Enerio III. Enerio oversees the branding campaign project, and is a member of the five-man SBAC.

The eight agencies—Dentsu Philippines Inc., J. Romero & Associates Inc., Lowe Inc., BBDO Guerrero Proximity Philippines Inc., DDB Philipines Inc., WPP/J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam Philippines Inc., and Aspac Advertising Inc.—made their advertising pitches to the SBAC on November 21 and 22, according to agency sources. They were earlier shortlisted from 13 agencies which had indicated their interest to participate in the bid.

In a text message, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., who sat in the presentations of the eight ad agencies, told the BusinessMirror that the proposed slogans and advertising concepts were all excellent.

“Magaganda lahat. They were all rooted in solid strategy and showed the hard work everyone put in,” he said. “We are now in a difficult process of selecting a winner.”

In previous media interviews, the DOT chief promised to announce a new tourism slogan before Christmas.

Asked how the SBAC will be choosing the new tourism slogan and brand campaign, Enerio explained that it will be “a collegial decision with major directions coming from the secretary.” He declined to reveal any more details of the pitches made by the advertising agencies due to the “confidentiality undertaking” he had signed, but promised that “all will soon be revealed.”

Unlike the “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” slogan prematurely launched during the tenure of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, and which was later scrapped due to a major industry outcry, the new slogan would be tested, and consultations held with industry stakeholders, Enerio said.

“Consultations are essential to success, acceptance, and ownership of the brand by all stakeholders. For sure, the [new] brand will be vetted extensively before being announced,” he said.

A separate bidding will be conducted for the supplier of the advertising materials such as television commercials, brochures, posters, and other collateral materials. It will probably take a year before the new advertising campaign will be finalized and rolled out to the target markets.

The P5.6-million “Philippine Branding Campaign focusing on Tourism” is the DOT’s third try at creating a new tourism slogan for the country, which for years, has been using the “Wow Philippines” campaign crafted by BBDO Guerrero in 2007.

The Philippines, with its lackluster manufacturing sector and sluggish agricultural performance, has set its sights on the tourism industry as a new engineer of economic growth. At present, the sector accounts for less than six percent of the gross domestic product, unlike other countries such as Spain, Thailand, Singapore, etc., whose tourism sectors represent over 40 percent of GDP.

Visitor arrivals from January to September this year jumped 12 percent to 2.89 million from 2.58 million in the same period last year. Jimenez has announced a 4-million target for tourist arrivals in 2012.

The Philippines hopes to attract 6 million tourist arrivals by 2016, or when President Aquino steps down from office.

However, a meager tourism promotions budget, lack of adequate infrastructure and facilities, and conflicting government policies could stand in the way of achieving those numbers.

The DOT for instance, has had to make do with an annual budget of P2 billion allocated by Congress.

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the gateway to the country, is old and decrepit, with a runway too small to accommodate the growing number of flights in and out of Manila. Some of its passenger terminals such as Naia 1, for instance, have been dubbed the “worst in the world” by international media outfits and travel bloggers.

And while the Aquino administration has just implemented a “pocket open skies” policy to encourage more international carriers to come to the Philippines, the government continues to charge taxes and fees on foreign airlines which unnecessarily increases the latter’s operating expenses. Only recently, Air France-KLM announced it would be dropping its direct flights to the Philippines due to the continued imposition of these taxes.

(My story was published in the BusinessMirror, Nov. 28, 2011.)

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(UPDATE) Checked with Asec. Enerio just today, Dec. 2, and he said "deliberations are ongoing. Sec. [Jimenez] is out of town, so we continue to evaluate up to next week."

Industry stakeholders threaten boycott of Tourism Congress polls (UPDATED)

(Former DOT Secretary Narzalina Lim.)

A number of tourism stakeholders who had earlier planned to attend the upcoming Tourism Congress elections on Friday, November 11, at the Philippine International Convention Center, are now planning to withdraw their participation in the said event.

The group, which includes former Tourism Secretary Narzalina Lim and former Philippine Stock Exchange president Jose Luis Yulo Jr., who owns an accredited tourism enterprise, decried an alleged breach of an agreement forged by Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. between warring factions in the industry. That agreement had paved the way for new elections to be convened and overseen by the Department of Tourism, and not by the current Tourism Congress headed by its president Alma Jimenez.

Under the old Tourism Congress, only accredited “aggrupations” were invited to participate in the election of its officers in 2009, and not the more than 1,000 enterprises that are supposedly on record. A number of stakeholders have alleged that the old TC board did not truly represent all sectors in the industry, such as those of hotels and restaurants. (The rest in InterAksyon, Nov. 9, 2011.)

Letter of former DOT Secretary Narzalina Lim to Undersecretary Daniel Corpuz, withdrawing participation in the Tourism Congress here.

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Yes! this was my first story in InterAksyon, the online news portal of TV5. Watch out for more of my stories there. :)

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UPDATE: Tourism Congress elects new officers, InterAksyon, Nov. 11, 2011

New Tourism chief's vision

HE has the right sound bites, that’s for sure.

That’s what I first thought when advertising stalwart Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. faced his first press briefing as acting secretary of the Department of Tourism.

He told the Malacañang press corps that promoting the Philippines’s beautiful sights should be “as easy to sell as Chickenjoy.” That comment shouldn’t be surprising—after all, Jimenez did handle the Jollibee account for years.

A Visual Communication graduate of the UP College of Fine Arts, the advertising veteran is the co-founder—with his wife, the former Annabelle “Abby” Lee—of the Jimenez firm Winning Over Obstacles (WOO) Communications Corp. WOO was the marketing communications agency which helped focus the theme of then presidential aspirant Noynoy Aquino’s campaign on the “Daang matuwid, laban sa daang baluktot!” Previous to WOO, both also co-founded what was once the leading advertising agency Jimenez Basic.

Still, my thought balloon at that time was, “Ang yabang naman nito.”

Don’t blame me. At the time I heard him say that, I had just come from Saigon, and was still marveling at the way the Vietnamese had packaged their country to tourists. Sure there were some issues with pickpockets (I walked through the Ben Thanh market with a firm grip on my bag), dishonest taxi drivers, and public smoking—but it attracted 5.05 million international tourists in 2010! The Philippines, on the other hand, managed to record only 3.52 million arrivals last year—and we’ve been at this tourism promotion thing since the Marcos administration in the 1970s.

Then I heard Jimenez say in one of his many TV appearances that Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia were already “very worried about what we’re about to do. They know we haven’t got the budget….[but] Filipinos have always beaten them with less.” I almost fell off my seat. Those countries with bazillions in their tourism budgets, worried? Was this guy for real?

I didn’t like it that he sounded like, well…an advertising guy spewing great ad copy. It felt like he was making a pitch, and we, the public, were his clients. (The only difference being, he had already been “approved” by President as the supplier. We had no choice in the matter.) And it made me nervous. Even one of his predecessors, Ace Durano, although considerably optimistic about the country’s tourism prospects, wasn’t this…well, unreal. (Jimenez’s immediate predecessor, Alberto Lim, meanwhile, was just way too pragmatic—it was almost depressing to write about the issues bugging the tourism sector.)

When I finally met Jimenez at the ungodly hour of 9 a.m. (he apparently starts work very early, as his own advertising colleagues attest), he clarified a number of issues for me. Yes, he was “super optimistic,” as one media colleague described him to me, but he does actually believe what he is saying. He wasn’t being disingenuous. I now agree with my colleague that, that is probably just what the sector needs.

That doesn’t mean Jimenez has his head way up in the clouds. On the contrary, he is quite aware that there could be a number of issues that may confound the implementation of the programs he wants to undertake.

One thing he really needs to do, however, is manage the high expectations of the public. For instance, there already seems to be some issue with the much-anticipated tourism slogan. After Jimenez had announced to all and sundry that there were already seven advertising firms working on it, boasting even that “it’s a who’s who of everyone in the advertising industry,” it turns out, most of the bidders had already withdrawn their participation in the project. The DOT only recently announced it has decided to rebid the project with a lower budget, and revised terms of reference. (See “DOT rebids brand campaign,” BusinessMirror, October 3, 2011.) As of Oct. 15, 2011, the agency had yet to announce the list of shortlisted bidders for the brand campaign as per in its Bid Bulletin #3, which moved the announcement schedule from the original date of Oct. 12.


Prior to this revelation, Jimenez sat down for a freewheeling discussion with the BusinessMirror, and answered a number of vital concerns about his sector:

What are we looking at in terms of tourist arrivals in 2012?

We will break 4 million in 2012, that’s our objective. And if we do that, we will be ahead of schedule. We will hopefully exceed doubling the target by 2016 (or 6 million arrivals).

But what is the DOT’s budget next year? Will it allow you to meet that 4-million target?

Well, the DOT itself has less than P2 billion in its budget for everything. But the details are not important. There is a resource we cannot easily quantify, the support of Filipinos everywhere. We are far and away the most savvy Internet communicators in this part of the world.

Let’s assume we finally found the so-called magic slogan everyone’s been waiting for, which is so unfair; no one ever had to clear a slogan with the country before because of what happened (in the past). But the vision is, once we have that, we put together what I call a tourism/country kit that anyone and everyone can pick up and transform into his or her microtourism campaign, whether they do it on Facebook, etc. We’ll give you the pictures, the slogans, the words, the basic tools you will need to create your own campaign. And theoretically, if every Facebook account holder can invite just one friend to visit, we would be the largest tourist country in Asia.

In your first day as Tourism secretary, you already met with the controversial Tourism Congress representatives. May I ask what you talked about?

It was really more a social visit if you will. We really didn’t get to talk turkey. But there was enough time to look at each other in the eye and I was very direct in saying that I hope they were open, and would listen to my advice. And they responded by saying, “if you’re willing to listen, then we are.” It was very frank. There was just enough time to say, “look, the opportunity for us is far greater than the pebbles and stones we’re trying to quarrel over now.”

The revised implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Tourism Act of 2009, especially those establishing a truly representative Tourism Congress, had been signed already by your predecessor. How are you going to implement these? Were there assurances made to the current representatives that they could stay?

There has been no such discussion. The fact of the matter is, the current congress, their terms expire in November. Now, I am not inclined to wait for that. What I’m more inclined is to get the parties together before that time, because there is a very unique opportunity for all of them to participate in a genuine transition as dictated by the new IRR.

Now, the existence of the IRR tells all the stakeholders that “Hey, this will be done as the IRR says. We can decide now—will it be neat or will it be messy?” That’s the way we Filipinos should begin to talk to each other. “Pwedeng graceful ’to, pwedeng hindi. But in effect, it’s going to happen.” The negotiations will end, and (I will) implement the law.

How are you going to deal with the issue of Mark Lapid, general manager of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza)?

The critical power of Tieza, contrary to popular belief, does not belong to the GM. It resides in a board that he reports to. Is he working under those limitations? Absolutely. He knows that. Frankly, in a way, I sympathize with his position. It’s a very short leash.

His background and my background are totally different, which probably makes him qualified for the job. He is quick to pick up on the imperatives that (local government units) have to face. He now understands through me, “that’s your role, ha. You tell us if it makes sense to the LGUs…. So just do things right, and you will get no grief from me.” Ang hindi productive talaga, is that we turn our backs on each and start sniping because that’s not what our people bargained for. “You’ve got a term, and I’ve got a boss. And we’ve got to find a way to make it work.”

So what happens to the Commission on Audit (COA) report? It’s like it never happened?

The COA report stands as it is. First, I have to explain ’no, the problems are administrative; we’re not talking here of somebody stealing money, and that’s why, in fact, he was sanctioned. Certain movements have been restricted already. By and large, it’s very difficult to be him right now, okay? It’s not as if that COA report had no effect. But it is just that, it’s a report. It’s not a body of evidence or anything like that. That will continue to be lawyers’ problem.

So there’s no actual stealing? No inappropriate use of funds?

No. Only the Tieza board decides on these things. We’re talking about things he did with his staff, ’yung ganyan.

So, why is COA talking about those things? It’s not fund misuse naman pala?

To be fair to COA, people may have picked up on it, well-meaning I’m sure. That’s okay. It’s just as well, he knows, ah, be careful. Kasi I will certainly not stand for it. But my responsibility precisely is to make him productive.

As per the new IRR of the Tourism Act, there are changes in store for the Tourism Congress and other tourism-related agencies, right? A new election has to happen?

Yes. We can’t move forward on the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) unless the Tourism Congress has now actively participated in nominating two people (to the TPB’s board). That includes the Tieza—may mga vacancies pa.

So your first priority, of course, is the tourism slogan. What else is on your plate in terms of priority programs or projects?

In terms of marketing and promotions, the priority is to transform the selling units, meaning, the smallest unit being the Filipino as individual, and the largest sets—the promotions units here, abroad and in the regions. Transformation means we’re giving them the tools, we’re making it clear what is the desired, or the cumulative net image we want to create, making it very clear in peoples’ minds, and conditioning them to accept that repetition is only a problem if you keep listening to your own propaganda. But do not tire of repeating your message over and over. That’s how it works.

What do you mean?

Ang tendency kasi ng Pilipino, they start embellishing because they tire of their own message. And they begin to lose the focus. It always happens—jeepney mentality—we never know when the work is finished. So we keep adding and adding until it is unrecognizable. The discipline is: “Here’s the country image, here’s what you say, and you repeat it, and repeat it, and repeat it, until we can reap the results.” So it’s a kind of reorientation and retraining of everybody.

Now the other role, which is going to be played largely by me, Tieza, will be to reorient the rest of government toward, in effect, a more touristic economic plan…. Right now, tourism accounts for less than 6 percent of GDP (gross domestic product). It’s about 40 percent in Spain. It’s serious business.

So what are your fighting targets for 2016?

I’m not prepared to call it a target as much as, if you will, a sensible prediction. If this country breaks 12 million visitors by the end of the President’s term, then we would have successfully transformed it into a fourth of the nation’s business, and that’s the one that will fuel our future. It’s really worth fighting for. If we’re at 3 million, just trebling that should not be a problem. I keep saying, we’ve got a better product…we just have to keep improving it.

That’s where the economic cluster comes in. I should say, they’re very, very receptive—(Secretaries) Greg Domingo (Trade and Industry), Mar Roxas (Transportation and Communications), Babes Singson (Public Works and Highways)—they’re all very willing to help because they know it can be done. Singson is really super supportive….

Yes, infrastructure is very important…

Correct. But like I said, that’s not as important as people genuinely trying to sell (the country) because 4 million come in with the present infrastructure, why do you think it is?

But that’s why it’s important. You can get more tourists with better infrastructure.

Absolutely, absolutely. [But] it’s a chicken and egg situation. I would rather much create the demand than force the issue on infrastructure, than rather force investors to put the money upfront, then the people didn’t come. That would be horrific! For example, investors in hotels, you think these people go around the world building hotels before the demand? No way! They’ve got to see at least the glimmerings of a 12-million visitor future for them to start digging now.

As a third (priority, I want to) shore up all our other offices. There is the Philippine Retirement Authority, the Intramuros Administration, we have the Philippine Scuba Commission, Duty Free Philippines—it is the fourth-largest Duty Free in the world! If you look at their sales, they’re staggering, because of the OFW market. Sales were supposed to be down in September but they’re having a really good year. In fact, we’re lined up for an award in France, the Frontier Awards which is like the Oscars of travel retail.

Can you break it down into more concrete projects? For instance, what are you going to do to clean up Manila?

The plans for development of Luneta, Intramuros…all of that will take place within the next five years. Theoretically, money is not a problem. The money will be raised. There are many groups who are willing to invest, it’s just a matter of gathering the resources, getting the plans finally approved. But this whole area will be transformed. If we can do it faster than that, we will.

It will involve briefing the DPWH, making sure that they reorient some of their projects to align with the development plans here. In other words, you have plans around the underpass here, TM Kalaw, etc., and coordinating it with them, and say, “do it this way, para naman it’s futuristic already—it serves the park, as well as Intramuros.”

That’s the easy part. The hard part, of course, is really rebuilding a lot of these things—the Chinese park, the Japanese park—we have to rebuild a lot of those.

I was just talking to a GM of a hotel here in Manila. He was saying his and the other hotels along Roxas Boulevard are all in good locations, you have the Manila Bay sunset, etc. But it’s so dirty here! Then you have the social issues tourists are confronted with—a lot of beggars, thieves, etc. And you can’t even ask them to go around taking the MRT or LRT; you go to Beijing, the subways are interconnected and clean….

But said another way, in Beijing the tourist areas are neatly isolated from the rest of the areas. There are some icky places, but they were able to create some islands of calm…we will be able to do that.

Theoretically, if somebody arrives in the Philippines, and went to Makati then straight to Bohol, they would probably think….

Wow, the Philippines is so beautiful!

Yeah. I have met people from India who couldn’t believe Makati. Something as lush as this couldn’t be found in India. When we rebuild our country, including the not-so-pretty places, it’s going to take time. Now our point of view is the Luneta, the Intramuros…if you did it correctly, you could shuttle people directly from Intramuros to the Luneta areas and Roxas Boulevard without ever having to see those. Right now, we just don’t have those linkages. ’Yun lang ’yun. Right now, it’s like getting people through New York having to pass by the Bowery every time because the infrastructure was made that way. Therefore the conclusion is, “Oh Manila is an ugly city,” because we make them pass there eh. We will create that flow.

So what is your vision for Intramuros?

Two things. Rebuilding it with stone is one-half of the restoration. The other half, is bringing back its spirit, its openness to new ideas, the arts, culture, music, etc. This is the venue for that. This will spell the rebirth of Intramuros after its physical restoration…. We’re already lining up artistic activities both in the performing arts and in the fine arts for next year.

Intramuros will rise again. The plans are already very detailed. But this will be the subject of PPP (public-private partnership) projects, because it is, in fact, a mini-city. The complications are, many people don’t know that not all the property in Intramuros is not public land. There are private parcels and it will require relocating informal settlers, etc.

During Secretary Lim’s time, he tried to talk to the Department of Finance about removing/eliminating the common carriers’ tax imposed on foreign carriers, but Secretary Purisima thumbed it down. Are you going to pursue the issue?

We would be the advocates of less fewer restrictions. So wherever I see an opening, I’m gonna squeeze in there.

You can expect, every time we encounter such a barrier and we feel it is in our country’s interest touristically to take down that barrier, we will take it up (with the agency concerned).

How are you going to professionalize tourist guides who are keys in enhancing the whole tourism experience?

This is in early days…my simple attitude; it will demand more involvement form the academe, more from the youth, that’s the only way. There would be more involvement from citizens who are natural historians—teachers, professors—but we have to put together a program that makes it worth their while.

I was telling them (DOT officials), you have the laboratory right here. The national standard for comfort rooms, we can build here (at the Rizal Park). The national prototype for tour guides, we can set them up right here. We’re not using these facilities as a national laboratory that we need, so that LGUs can see how it’s done. I intend to change that.

(This piece was originally published on the front page of the BusinessMirror, Oct. 16, 2011. Photo of Jimenez by Nonie Reyes. Tourism photos copyrighted by this blogger.)

No fund misallocation in Mark Lapid case – DOT chief

FOR now, Mark Lapid is staying on as general manager of the Tourism Infrastruture and Zone Authority (Tieza), formerly the Philippine Tourism Authority.

Thus said Ramon Jimenez Jr., acting secretary of the Department of Tourism, in an extensive interview with this writer, for BusinessMirror.

Jimenez also said there were no issues of fund irregularities with regards to the Commission on Audit’s report on Lapid. “The problems are administrative; we're not talking here of somebody stealing money, and that's why, in fact, he was sanctioned. Certain movements have been restricted already,” the DOT chief stressed.

He added that he was “working very well” with Lapid.

As per the Tourism Act of 2009, Tieza is “mandated to designate, regulate and supervise the tourism enterprise zones established under this Act, as well as develop, manage and supervise tourism infrastructure projects in the country. It shall supervise and regulate the cultural, economic and environmentally sustainable development of TEZs toward the primary objective of encouraging investments therein.”

It would be recalled that Jimenez’s predecessor, Alberto Lim, asserted that President Aquino had failed to act on the COA report on Lapid as the latter’s father, Sen. Lito Lapid’s vote was needed to approve the postponement of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao elections.

In the same interview, Jimenez also said changes were in store for the controversial Tourism Congress (TC). A number of tourism officials and private tourism stakeholders have criticized that the current crop of TC representatives were not “truly representative” of the sector.

Hoteliers said their sector, for instance, were not represented in the TC. “And yet they have someone representing the real estate sector sitting as one of its officials,” remarked the general manager of a five-star hotel, who declined to be identified.

The amended Sec. 137 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Tourism Act of 2009 calls for the DOT Secretary to convene the Tourism Congress and their duly representative members. Thereafter, he is supposed to preside over the election of the group’s new president, as well as its other officers.

“The fact of the matter is, the current congress, their terms expire in November. Now I am not inclined to wait for that. What I’m more inclined is to get the parties together before that time, because there is a very unique opportunity for all of them to participate in a genuine transition as dictated by the new IRR,” Jimenez said.

The TC is a key body in the tourism industry, which is why its previous representation became very contentious. It recommends candidates for the respective boards of the Tieza, Duty Free Philippines Corp. and Tourism Promotions Board. (formerly the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corp.).

With proper candidates to the TC and said DOT-attached agencies, the private sector is given a pivotal role in directing the course of tourism promotions and marketing of the country.

In the interview, Jimenez also outlines his priority programs, his vision for Intramuros, and how he intends to use the Rizal Park as a “national laboratory” to train local governments in the standards of establishing tourism facilities. (Click BusinessMirror Sunday for the rest of the interview.)

DOT rebids brand campaign

TO generate a more “competitive presentation” for the widely anticipated new Philippine tourism slogan, acting Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. has announced the rebidding of his agency’s branding campaign.

Acting Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. (Photo courtesy WOO Consultants via The Carillon)

This, after only one advertising agency, BBDO Guerrero, submitted a bid under the old terms of reference (TOR), where the project cost P13 million. This allowed the Department of Tourism (DOT) to declare the initial bid a failure, officials said.

DOT Spokesman Benito Bengzon Jr. told the BusinessMirror the new bid project would only cover the creation of the slogan or “concept,” and not the actual production of the ad materials. “Some of the deliverables in the original TOR were removed,” he said in a text message.

As such, bidders will no longer be required to produce the creative materials for the branding exercise, such as audio-visual presentations/TV commercials, brochures and posters. This made it possible for the DOT to reduce the budget for the project to only P5.6 million, he added.

Jimenez said he had to “seek the approval of the [Government Procurement Policy Board], if we could rebid the project.” He was advised that as head of the agency, he could “amend the TOR if it could be shown that pursuing the project would be disadvantageous to the government. We could thus declare a failure of bidding,” explained a DOT source familiar with the project.

The same source said that if the government agency had proceeded with the initial bid with only BBDO as the lone bidder, “it would have cast doubt on the DOT and BBDO. As the secretary has said, this is the ‘most anticipated tourism slogan in Philippine history,’ so we want the government, and the public, to get the best deal. A rebid would allow a competitive presentation from more advertising agencies.”

According to the new “Request for Expression of Interest” issued by the DOT’s Special Bid and Awards Committee and published on the agency’s web site, prospective bidders in the “Philippine Branding Campaign Focusing on Tourism” will be required to submit a “nonrefundable fee of P100.00” to the DOT cashier by October 10, if they want to secure eligibility documents or a checklist.

Shortlisted bidders will be announced on October 12, and can then secure official bid documents until October 30. Bid documents may be secured upon payment of a "nonrefundable amount of P5,000" to the DOT cashier.

Bidders have only until October 31 to submit their bids. Accepted bids will be asked to “make a pitch” to DOT officials on November 21.

The bid project is described as the “development and implementation of a branding campaign that shall highlight the competitive advantage of the Philippines as an international and domestic tourist destination.” The contract duration for the winner is two months.

Jimenez, it will be recalled, had announced to the media that seven of the top advertising agencies in the country were already working on the branding effort.

But the BusinessMirror sources in the advertising industry said the agencies, which had expressed interest in the initial bid, withdrew after they found the bid process “so tedious.”

Only BBDO Guerrero was left to pursue the project. It was the same agency that conceptualized the “Wow Philippines” tourism campaign under then-Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon.

A DOT source confirmed the withdrawal of “four or five agencies,” which had participated in the initial bid, “because they found the [P13-million] budget insufficient.” The sixth bidder, the source added, was “disqualified on a technical rule,” thus leaving only BBDO.

Industry sources said the other agencies that had prequalified in the initial P13-million bid were J. Walter Thomson, McCann Erickson, Dentsu Inc., J. Romero and Associates Inc., Lowe Philippines Inc. and Young & Rubicam. It was learned that the DOT did not allow Y&R to proceed with its bid.

While declining to reveal further details of the new TOR, the same DOT source intimated that these were “substantially changed to make it more acceptable to the ad agencies.”

He said the DOT expects about 30 advertising agencies to express interest in the rebid of the new tourism-slogan project, thereafter, this would be whittled down to about seven prequalified for the actual bid. “Of course, it could also be less than seven, it’s not a fixed number,” he said.

Despite the project rebid, Jimenez was still firm on unveiling the new tourism slogan “before Christmas. Kailangan matapos na,” the source said.

In a press statement released late Friday, the DOT said: “The arrival of the new Secretary of Tourism, Ramon Jimenez Jr., a former advertising executive, has led to a rethink over the concept of the campaign and TOR and so necessitates a declaration of a failure in the previous bidding process.”

It also quoted BBDO Guerrero’s Chairman and Founder David Guerrero supporting the rebid for the branding project: “We are one with the Department of Tourism in expressing the desire for having more than one agency to present its ideas for the country’s branding campaign in what should be a highly competitive process. Indeed, this is about getting the best result for the nation’s advertising and so we are only too happy to fit in with the secretary’s plans.”

Citing an unnamed “spokesman,” the DOT press statement added: “The failure in the bidding process is no reflection on the ability of BBDO Guerrero to meet the previous TOR and the responsibilities of the campaign and we certainly look forward to welcoming them to the new process.”

An official of BBDO Guerrero, who declined to be identified, said the agency “will definitely join” the rebid.

(My story was published on the front page of the BusinessMirror, Oct. 3, 2011.)