Here is the latest slogan launched by the Department of Tourism (DOT) in promoting tourism in our homeland. Despite the new logo and generic content of the catchphrase, many people (particularly Pinoys) believed it was copied from an old Swiss Tourism flyer.
Well, it really doesn’t matter if DOT copied the same phrase or it was just coincidentally manufactured by the people in the government’s tourism arm. Most of us will be more concerned with how much resources were dispensed to constitute a rather correspondent utterance in advertising our country for tourism.
I hope our government did not exhaust too much amount in coming up with this one as we have a former issue with the DOT when they made use of “Pilipinas Kayganda” for a few months which stirred a lot of intrigue behind the scandalous slogan which even forced its undersecretary in an unsettling situation.
The catchy phrase can be true to its message. Despite the negative feedbacks from “several” tourists I can still say that our country is still one of the best destinations in the world.
My mom and my sister had their recent tours on different parts of the world. My mom went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land encompassing Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. My sister on the other hand hopped from one Asian destination to another. Both of them had the same reaction despite the difference on their traveled locations.
It is through their stories that I have validated that our country should not be missed and instead be added in a tourist’s itinerary. As witnessed by my sister who is now a permanent resident of Australia, we are incomparable when it comes to cleanliness and safety. Yeah!
As my mother has stated, “Pinakamaganda pa rin ang Pilipinas dahil sa mas malinis at masayahin ang mga tao … yung ugali lang talaga nating mga Pinoy minsan ang hindi maganda. Sana mapanatili nating maayos at malinis ang lahat para maipagmalaki natin sa ibang bansa.”
It is not just our government’s job to promote our country. We are all accounted for in keeping a good standing for our nation. Whether you are a local or a migrant, you should be proud that you grew up in this pearl in the Pacific. Despite our multicultural affinity there’s still nothing like home.
