The Philippines last 2010 had its slogan "It's More Fun in the Philippines". However is it really more fun in the Philippines? Not really. As said, marketing is a powerful tool but used wrongly, it can horribly backfire. Now let's take a look at Cebu throughout the years. Cebu was advertised as the Queen City of the South. One may think of Cebu's development throughout the years was slow but it did start to pay off.
So why did Cebu attract foreigners in spite of the Philippines' conditions? One can think of the Cebuano experience is certainly a plus factor in the Philippines. You cannot deny that Cebu in the later years had become attractive to investment. IT Park is one proof of that investment. There are still many others that makes Cebu indeed attractive to tourists without flashing, "It's More Fun in Cebu". You don't need to put "more" with fun if your product really testifies itself. Word of mouth has a much bigger impact in marketing than marketing methods itself. While marketing is important, make sure your product is worth selling!
Here are a few reasons to really say why Cebu's development will attract a lot of tourists to the Philippines:
Cebu is very business oriented
You cannot deny how Cebu has become more business oriented. Cebu itself has had a growth of foreign and local businesses. You can think of Manuel Pages. You can think of Cebu as an exporter capital. You can think of Cebu as a place with the best Pinoy food. Cebu's businesses are booming. IT Park in Salinas, Lahug is just one of the many proofs of that. IT Park is a shopping hub and business center.
Delicious food trips in Cebu
While not all Cebuano food is delicious but a lot are. Once you have tasted the delicious food of quality Pinoy restaurants in Cebu, it's very easy to say, "I'd really want to eat more of Cebuano food." Just think about it... you have delicious Pinoy food cooked by quality chefs. With quality Pinoy food, nobody is ever going to say, "I'd rather go hungry than eat Filipino food again." Instead it will be, "Cebu's quality Filipino food satisfies my hunger!" Also check out Cebu's lechonfor the famous lechon of the Philippines, praised by food critic Anthony Bourdain.
Cebu has MUCH LESS pollution than Manila
In Cebu, pollution is much less than Manila. I can often see street cleaners clean up the mess. Garbage disposal is taken seriously. I cannot deny how Cebu's pollution is much less thicker than Manila's. Also flooding is not much of a problem because the city tries its best to fix the flooding problem. There were flooding problems in Cebu which were bad but competent governance fixed it.
Cebu is home to quality Pinoy furniture
It's very hard not to call Cebu as the furniture capital of the Philippines. Although it does import materials but it has really its own quality Pinoy work. It's not like Failipino furniture that's poorly done. It's quality Pinoy furniture. Some of the best exporters belong to Cebuano Pinoys and Cebuano Chinese who continue their competition against each other, thus producing more quality furniture.
More vigilant, responsible authorities
Just think in Cebu, law enforcement is better. Caught in mendicancy? Get ready to get a fine. Caught begging? Be ready to be chased away. A crime happens? Cebu is so small it's hard not to catch a criminal. With the drug raids going on, Cebu itself has become a safer city. With a little more tweaks, Cebu may become the Singapore of the Philippines. Investing in Communist China is always safer than investing in a democratic country where peace and order is hardly done. Do expect leftists to be thwarted in the act.
Strict time enforcement
Timeliness is attractive to investment. Nobody wants to wait long hours just to get a contract signed. Instead, you have the statement, "We are Pinoys, Filipino time is being on time!" It rejects the stereotypical Filipino time in exchange for the new Filipino time. That is, it follows Philippine time... which is if it's 3:00 P.M. in the Philippines, then that's the time to follow, not one hour late!
Cebu itself must continue to improve itself as a model to a better Philippines!
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