The Reasons about DOT’s Rebranding: Love the Philippines

The "enhanced" tourism campaign, called "Love the Philippines," was unveiled by the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Tuesday. This is the sequel to the popular first film, "It's More Fun in the Philippines."

Source: DOT

Many Filipinos are wondering the reason why DOT opted to change the slogan. Here are the following reasons for the country’s tourism rebranding.

Embracing the New Normal

The DOT claimed that the rebrand was necessary in light of the pressures placed on the sector during the COVID-19 outbreak. The tourists' goals, interests, and behavior were altered by the health emergency.

With the new normal, DOT enhances the tourism promotions of the Philippines to spur new job opportunities, investments, and innovation for the local sectors.

Font Remain Unchanged

The DOT continued to utilize the Barabara font, which was modeled after the hand-painted street signs typically found in jeepneys, for its tourism brand. This time, the new emblem is vibrant and has Philippine symbols.

According to the DOT under former Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Barbara font is more readable. From the previous tourism campaign of “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”, which also utilized the Barbara font, they have seen the significant improvement of the tourism promotion.

“One of those accomplishments is actually coming up with this particular font that is distinct to the Philippines and this is known already all over the world. And so we capitalize on its success,” Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said in an interview during the release of the new slogan.

Choosing Love over Fun in the Philippines

Filipinos are curious why the slogan was changed to love in promoting the country's tourism. Love is a word that the majority prefers that the Philippines can be associated with.

Love the Philippines’ goes to the heart of every Filipino that loves their country. You can no more force one person to love their country in the same way that you cannot force them to love themselves, or somebody else.

Moreover, today’s new slogan goes beyond the fun that leisure promotes for the country. Frasco expressed that we truly believe that in reflecting our love of country in our new tourism tagline, we would be able to reawaken in our fellow Filipinos their own love of country.

Marie Adriano of DDB Group Philippines, the DOT’s partner for the campaign, said that love is the optimistic motif that tourists constantly and amply associate with our nation. And while having fun is still a good thing, fewer people mention it.