There was a time, back when I was an undersecretary at the Department of Agriculture, that I thought the Tourism Secretary must have the best job. Their portfolio is the entire Philippines, a beautiful country with friendly, hospitable people. All one needs to do is make these wonderful qualities known to the world.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the reopening of Boracay in late 2018, as well as the relaunch of the popular “It’s More Fun in Philippines” campaign in early 2019, led to the Philippines’ most successful year in terms of tourism. Many of the world’s tourists are familiar with Boracay, but not much beyond that. Our campaigns at the time began to highlight other aspects of our country, not just our destinations but our unique culture, cuisine, and traditions as well.
Slowly but surely – a phrase I liked to repeat often as we fine-tuned and executed our recovery strategies – destinations began to reopen after the thorough process of consulting and working closely with local governments, stakeholders, and community representatives. We made a big push for domestic tourism, based on the data that it is our local travelers who contribute a much larger portion to tourism revenue.
At the summit, the issues of sustainable tourism and regenerative tourism permeated every topic and panel discussion. The latter of which the DOT has been pushing for in the industry – to involve tourists in leaving a destination in a better state than before.