Cebu Urged To Lead In Tourism Promotions

[Geoff Thomas]

CEBU CITY -- As a top tourist destination, Cebu should lead in the aggressive development and promotion of the country’s tourism programs, a top government official said yesterday.

Tourism Assistant Secretary Domingo Ramon C. Enerio III said during the Tourism Congress 2012 yesterday that Cebu can do a lot in helping spread the "More Fun in the Philippines" slogan which has caught on like wildfire six months since its launching in January.

"We need everyone’s help to achieve our target of 10 million tourist arrivals by 2016. We encourage Cebu, which is a recognized leader in the tourism industry, to aggressively support DoT (Department of Tourism) programs," he added.

Cebu’s "suroy-suroy (countryside tour)" is one example of people being very involved in the implementation of a tourism program and which is exactly what the country needs to develop the industry, he pointed out.

"The suroy-suroy (which takes guests on a tour of Cebu towns) is a meandering, venturing into some unknown path with the destination not being as important as the act of traveling. It is the very essence of the program (DoT slogan) being launched today -- fun," explained Cebu Governor Gwendolyn F. Garcia.

"It is a two-way voyage of discovery: of tourists finding out about people, places, and cultures never known before and of cities, towns, and barangays realizing what makes them unique," she added.

Mr. Enerio said there are now 40,000 different variations of the new Philippine tourism slogan circulating on the web and these are produced by individuals doing their share to help spread good things about the country.

"Thanks to the support of Filipinos here and outside the country, we have conquered the online social networks. In just a few hours after it was introduced, the new slogan was trending in Facebook and Twitter," he said, noting that it has evolved into a people’s campaign.

The slogan caught on because it is easy to understand and convey, and reflects the Filipino fun-loving nature capable of sharing joy, he pointed out.

Mr. Enerio said Filipinos readily embraced the "More Fun in the Philippines" slogan because it is the truth and it pulls at their heartstrings to live up to the message behind it. -- Marlen D. Limpag