Senator Nancy Binay has questioned the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) allocation for market study and research for their rebranding campaign, as she underscored that these should have been done before the launch of its controversial “Love the Philippines” video.
The DOT had requested P30 million for Strategy, Research and Overall Direction for the Integrated Marketing Communication Campaign, as part of its P500 million budget proposal for its Branding Campaign Program for 2024.
However, Binay noted that the agency also has an unutilized item of the same amount for this year.
She expressed amusement at the need for continued P30 million allocation, as she stressed that a market study should have been done before the launch of the campaign.
She inquired from the DOT why they are spending P30 million for a study that was supposed to be was already done before the launch.
“I would assume this is the ‘Love the Philippines’, ‘di ba?” she said.
“So, what is the basis for doing a rebranding when you’re still gonna do a strategy research worth P30 million?,” Binay asked.
“You’re shifting to a new campaign, so talagang, overhaul ‘yan. So how can it be that you started a new campaign already?”
According to the DOT, the firm it initially contracted for the “Love the Philippines” campaign had already conducted a comprehensive study on customer behavior, trends in travel and tourism post-pandemic, as well as attitudes to travel, including tourism spending.
Binay said that considering a study had already been conducted, the P30 million requested was already redundant.
“And if that’s the case, so dapat alisin na natin ang P30 million,” said Binay.
Frasco said she will consult the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President on what possible actions they can take over the false statement of an Indonesian counterpart who claimed that the Philippines used footage of their tourist attraction in a presentation during the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in June 2023 in Cambodia.
During the hearing in the proposed P2.9 billion budget of the DOT for fiscal year 2024, Frasco told Senator Nancy Binay, who chairs the Senate Committee on Tourism, that she categorically denies the statement made by Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno, thanking the Philippines for using Tegalalang rice terraces, which is in Bali, Indonesia.
Uno attended the UNWTO meeting in Cambodia, along with Frasco.
The DOT chief refuted allegations that the agency used the mood video that was being questioned last July during the launch of the ‘Love the Philippines’ campaign, during the UNWTO in Cambodia last June.
“To clarify, the UNWTO conference which I attended happened prior to the launch of the video in question. The video that was shown during the dinner hosted by the Philippine government in UNWTO was the video that was made in-house and did not use any of the footage that was used in the video launch to support the tourism rebranding,” Frasco asserted.
“We categorically deny showing the video in question during the UNWTO,” Frasco added.
With this, Binay asked Frasco if she made an effort to correct the statement of the Indonesian official, but DOT Assistant Secretary Verna Buensuceso intervened, saying the DOT has already communicated with their Indonesian counterparts to elucidate that “what we had shown in the dinner that was hosted by the Philippines in Cambodia was actually an in-house production and was certainly not about the video and the ad in question.”
Binay then advised the DOT chief to “demand an apology from the Indonesian tourism minister for allegedly fabricating stories and lying.
Frasco retorted that “would discuss the matter with the Executive department and the DFA.”
