Making It Fun in the Philippines

This is a laughable claim unless improvement REALLY happens! As I mentioned, sloganeering DOES NOT change the truth about the Philippines no matter how many times you try to invert it.  You cannot deny it that slogans are attractive but the truth is in fact, more heavy against the tagline.  There is a statement that advertising works but testimonials can affect your traffic dramatically.  I the tagline and the testimonial do not match, do expect a drastic reduction of visitors.   Testimonials will always matter more than taglines . A lousy product no matter how much it is marketed for, it will always be a lousy product.  Sometimes something that's not very heard of at first will get noticed because of its quality.  Just think if somebody promoted, "It's More Fun in Bangladesh." a nation that's worse than the Philippines, just think a huge number of gullible tourists may first enter in THEN hardly anyone will return.  Deceit may work for now but r...

There is the problem of "Filipino time" which is better known as NOT being on time.  The term "Filipino time" was invented as an excuse by Failipinos to be late.  However enlightened Pinoys have fought to redeem the term for the better, not continue it for the worse.  I refuse to call it Filipino time if they don't comply with Philippine time... that is 3:00 P.M. in the Philippines IS 3:00 P.M. in the Philippines. I heard a Cebuano professor once say, "The Visayas follows Filipino time that is, we follow Philippine time.  We are on time."  The tagline was just above, "I'm a Pinoy and I'm on time!"  Such a campaign must be continuous considering being late is a habit that has been developed by many Filipinos.  Fortunately some Pinoys take a change for the better. In my case to launch a campaign for being on time, the tagline should be, "Being Late - Not More Fun in the Philippines.  Being on Time - It's More Fun in the ...

The first took place on June 20, 2014 at the Conrad Hotel in Japan ( read here ). The event had Sayaka Akimoto who was promoted as the Tourism Goodwill Ambassador for both Japan and the Philippines. DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez invited the Japanese people to see the pristine, natural attractions. How do I view it as significant? Sayaka Akimoto is proud of her dual heritage. She went to the Philippines to visit her relatives after ten years. The whole significance behind it is that with a half-Filipino, half-Japanese accepting herself as is, it will show that peace can happen between the two nations. Sayaka's visit to the Philippines is one that links both countries together. Recently, even AKB48 will try to establish a base in the Philippines. On August 7, 2014 after the mall event in SM Mandaluyong, one can see Takeru Sato, Emi Takei and Munetaki Aoki as Cultural Friendship Ambassadors. This is another way to acknowledge that Imperial Japan is long dead and that Modern Japa...

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...

Cebu's lechon or roasted pig is indeed a very tasty treat.  I could testify that lechon from Cebu really has a much better taste than lechon from Manila.  CnT Lechon is indeed one of the biggest symbols of the Cebuano food industry with its slogan "The Taste of Cebuano" and its outlets are a tourist hit.  Now I just thought of Cebu's lechon and why it's very tasty. Cebu's lechon when you think of it has a unique infusion of spices.  It's slowly cooked and roasted to perfection and high satisfaction.  Even some people I know who prepare lechon say the process is indeed tedious but it is worth it.  When I hear of all its difficult processes, I would admit that my mind BOGGLES thinking about it.  It's a very meticulous process and mind you, you cannot get wrong.  One wrong mistake makes the lechon a disaster.  I've seen how the preparation take place... at least on Youtube.  All I can say is, it's not easy. It's no easy preparation put...

We don't need the word "more" to make the Philippines attractive... or if you want to use the word more PLEASE TELL US WHY! There are fun areas in the Philippines, no questions asked but in tourism, it's unethical to use deception just to get traffic.  Just think... some bloggers may even claim to be experts just to get traffic (and I have done that, caught red handed).  In my case, I have dropped any pretense that I'm a know it all and decided it's time to be myself.  Now for my argument that why "more" is not necessarily needed in the marketing campaign. For one, just take a look at the need of a good tagline.  It has to be credible and catchy.  Catchy in a sense that you attract audiences but credible also, that you don't drive anything preposterous nor drag others down.  Sad to say but such a habit seems to be taken from America's culture of dragging each other down. Competition in business is a reality but don't destroy your ...

"What differentiates the Philippines from other offerings is the Filipino.  Wherever you go in the Philippines, the Filipinos will make your experience unforgettable." - Ramon Jimenez I can understand that marketing IS an important tool if you expect the tourists to come to the Philippines but there is a double-edged sword in here.  So what's the big issue?  The statement itself is a double-edged sword.  In what way?  I would discuss this n a way that would start to get offensive to the Failipinos and an encouragement for enlightened Pinoys. The statement itself says, "The Philippines is differentiated because of the Filipino."  The Filipino is a resident of the Philippines.  What's the bigger point is the second half of the statement, "Wherever yo go in the Philippines, the Filipinos will make your experience unforgettable." Now unforgettable can happen in two ways.. whether it's in a GOOD WAY or a BAD WAY.  Some Filipinos make it in a ...

Definitely NOT a fun experience!!!! Marketing "It's More Fun in the Philippines" while the Philippines suffers from poor peace and order is definitely NOT credible.  During the Rolando Mendoza Incident, it was a huge blow on tourism especially when an idiot of a president, Benigno Simeon "Nobita" Cojuangco Aquino refused to apologize to Hong Kong government.  Later, he even avoided them like a plague and blacklisted them.  Certainly, it's a lack of accountability. Why was the Rolando Mendoza incident a HUGE BLOW ON TOURISM FOR SOME TIME?  One couple who entered the Philippines years ago when it was more fun than today wanted to revisit the tourist sites they visited when they were younger.  However their honeymoon was ruined thanks to the following instances.  A corrupt cop gone worse, poor handling of cops and being hostage.  Whether or not the sticker "It's More Fun in the Philippines" was there is not important, what is important is we ...

One of the greatest issues with the Philippines is the misguided notion of happiness. For some reason I even think the slogan, "It's More Fun in the Philippines" is the typical Pinoy otherwise the Failipino bragging to the world that the Philippines is the happiest place on Earth. Since they have that unhealthy obsession to be in an eternal state of bliss a.k.a. Pleasure Island mentality, you can see why production and labor is usually poor. It's a shame really to see the contrast between an illiterate laborer encourages his kids not to rely on him and to go to school so they can get better jobs while his fellow laborer is feeding parasites, then the former gets mocked and the latter gets praised. Take this campaign with a grain of salt... This is one of the most facepalm propaganda you can find. One of the best done deception is when a liar says, "I'm not lying, I'm telling the truth." Some people have very good personal relationship power that...

It's a huge sigh of relief to think that Cebu's police force is doing everything they can to battle illegal drugs.  Although it's not as strong as Singapore (hopefully it will be)... one cannot deny this data from Sun Star news . Here's the statistics based on the news: 2013 had at least 1,759 people arrested for illegal drugs.  This year up to November 15 there were at least 2,750 people arrested for illegal drugs. Last year's shabu drive caught at least PHP 44,044,326 worth of Cebu.  This year, it's a much bigger catch with PHP 107,346.940 worth of shabu. So what can we learn from this?  With Cebu being strong against crime, having better law enforcement, isn't it any wonder why investment went stronger?   Here's something worth applauding about Senior Superintendent Conrado Capa based on the news.  Just think... he revealed that they are doing their best.  He also acknowledges that Cebu still has a long way to go and they won't be c...

Sloganeering is useless if the slogan is nothing more than a lie. While it's catchy, it's clingy but have they thought of the LONG RUN? In spite of the slogan, one can still see that the Philippine tourism may not beat the tourism of places like Japan or Singapore. Singapore is much smaller than the Philippines but its tourism is high. What factors are preventing it from becoming more fun in the Philippines? Here are some that need to be dealt with: 1.) People who cannot follow rules It's a sad state to think about but a lot of Pinoys take joys in breaking rules. In an experience, I was caught jaywalking (I had diarrhea that day...) and wanted to go to the toilet, soon enough I paid my PHP 50.00 jaywalking fine, something else happened. A group of unruly Pinoys PURPOSELY jaywalked and when the traffic enforcer was even being nice, he lost his temper when they said, "Jaywalking is more fun in the Philippines!" 2.) Bad airport quality in a lot of areas Wh...

While President Noynoy "Nobita" Aquino claims that the economy is growing, IMF has claimed that Philippine GDP is growing but there's one problem... ECONOMIC PROTECTIONISM. The mistake of the 1987 Constitution did not include the removal of cronyism and oligarchy. The problem of the late Ferdinand Marcos' cronyism DID NOT end. Although Marcos was deposed from power, you cannot deny that 60/40 is a ridiculous rule. It continued the cronyism structure, only under different names. Now I am not saying that removing 60/40 is 100% a guarantee for foreign investment. If you think of it, it would be better invest in the Philippines with 60/40 than to invest in Bangladesh or any country worse than the Philippines. But 60/40 is a very unfair rule for trade law which... joint venture ownership in other countries is more flexible. There are foreign investors who love the Philippines but remember, ONLY CERTAIN AREAS of the Philippines. What the Philippines can do is to learn...

Although it's not a very new incident anymore, but I still want to think about how NOT to promote tourism in the Philippines.  An incident in Singapore happened a few weeks ago.  It was a Vietnamese guy that got conned by a Singaporean tourist shop ( Read here ). Here's a Failipino comment that's worth a thousand facepalms from the same article I just shared: It's pure harassment, swindling, robbery, holdup, to a foreign tourist who came from a 3rd world country. Do you think they will do that to a foreigner who came from a developed country. Is this a normal practice in Singapore that they don't explain 1st to the customer the way the warranty should be charged. I said harassment because they threatened the customer that they will not give $600 refund if he call the police. In UNITED KINGDOM, warranty is optional but they charged it 10% of the selling price good for 1 year.   I thought Singapore POLICE is very tough when it comes to customer complain...

It was stupid how I hear Failipino pridists who say, "We will eat nothing but Filipino food."  However a closer look at any cuisine in the world whether it is Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, etc. it will always have foreign influence.  Filipino food is never exempt either which one can name these influences: Food used during fiestas like lechon and adobo were originally native but had Spanish influence mixed into them.  For example, the tastiest lechon has some Spanish style influence mixed into it. The use of noodles in Filipino cooking has influence by Chinese and later Japanese.  But maybe mostly Chinese.  Even if the Chinese didn't occupy the Philippines, they traded with it anyway during the pre-colonial times (maybe even introduced martial arts) they did trade with the Filipino natives, long before they were called Filipinos! Fish ball and tempura are definitely of Chinese and Japanese influence.  Filipinos have learned to manufacture it locally...

This is better yet an objective than a slogan...  As said, testimonials will beat taglines.  While there is Marketing 101 to make your product attractive but basics in business will show these 5 Ps in the whole product/marketing mix.  These are Product, Price, Place, Promotion and People.  All these must work together right?  So let's think of the root cause of the problem that's preventing the slogan from becoming a reality. One can consider the following issues that's rampant in the Philippines.  Its capital Metro Manila has the issues of heavy pollution, high crime, rude people, arrogant people, habitual tardiness, bad workforce and the like which can take away the fun experience.  Sad to say but Pinoys can be easily stereotyped for being rude and crude.  Some Singaporeans face the issue of Pinoy workers who are causing them a lot of problem which in turn, well-to-do Pinoys are really affected in the process.  With Manila as the capi...

In business, it's understandable why there's always a catchy phrase. Taglines make it easy to remember a certain product or service. Now I can go and repeat the same tagline of "It's More Fun in the Philippines" which is catchy but preposterous... it's better served as a mission/vision than a tagline. Let's think about how testimonials will matter over taglines. The problem of the tagline as I said, is it's overly used and abused when there are many taglines that are not misleading yet inviting, credible yet inviting. It's very misleading because you are suggesting that the Philippines is the best place on Earth. The tagline "Yours Truly Singapore" and "Uniquely Singapore" don't brag Singapore to be the best place on Earth. Even Singapore has its issues... no country is ever spared from issues. Now here's the problem of the tagline when the testimonial comes in. Now let's think about the experience of some tourist...

Remember the Department of Tourism wrote, "It's More Fun in the Philippines" for certain activities.  Sad to say, Metro Manila is one place in the Philippines that needs to be serious with its date with improvement and throw away mediocrity out of its culture.  Tourism and investment can be easily drawn by a tagline but it's definitely DIFFICULT to convince them to stay when the tagline's opposite is very true.  As long as "Pwede Na Yan" which in English means "That Will Do" is not eliminated from the mindset, DO NOT EXPECT IMPROVEMENT! Why is it that Metro Manila must get rid of mediocrity to promote more tourism and investment?  Mediocrity is different from contentment.  A content man seeks to improve while accepting his limitations.  To be mediocre is to never seek improvement at all.  A case can happen between two squatters.  One squatter seeks to improve, he is no longer poor but when he finds out he is definitely not fit to be Bill Gate...

Photographs were selected from here . It's nice to hear that the Loboc River Cruise recovered but Bohol may not be out of the jungle yet.  No one should underestimate the significance of Bohol to the Philippine economy based on tourist arrivals.  Way back then, Chocolate Hills was a really nice place to be but the picture above proved that the damage was indeed big after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Common sense dictates that the Philippines must preserve its tourist spots.  If the Philippines has something worth showing more fun than any other area of the world BECAUSE of the unique experience and Bohol is one of them (ex. Great Wall of China is definitely more fun in China BECAUSE it's only in China), the same goes for many tourist spots of the Philippines.  Bohol is uniquely Bohol and it's one of the best business spots in the Philippines.  To ignore the effects of the 7.2 earthquake and Typhoon Yolanda on Bohol would be killing an important investment fo...

After a butthurt experience of a Polish girl who would never eat Filipino food again (she got the bad quality, no doubt), I am enticed to write this for foreigners.  Filipino food has tasty and non-tasty varieties like every cuisine in the world. Here's a few tips that may get you to get some food that's more fun to eat in the Philippines: Place matters I would like to suggest places to go to for quality Filipino food would be in places like Cebu, Bacolod, Bohol and Iloilo.  One may want to stay away from prolonged stays in places like Imperial Manila (especially Tondo).  Imperial Manila is one place that's definitely going to make a tourist's longer stay a real nightmare most of the time! Avoid Filipino street foods as much as possible Avoid those foods located at sidewalk eateries, foods prepared at the street, sidewalk barbeque or any place where it's located in a dirty area.  One may notice the POOR SANITATION and POOR HANDLING should be enough to dis...

After reading the Sunstar website this morning, one cannot deny that the Philippines has a rising economy and BPI is making banking more fun than it was before in the Philippines .  So what's in store for BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands)? Here's my thoughts on BPI's foreigner friendly banking: 1.) BPI is getting ready for the 2016 foreigner influx.   It's time to put away the old Pinoy habit of not being ready and BPI is doing its image as an outstanding Filipino bank.  With a sense of readiness, who can deny that this bank is really getting ready.  The Philippines hopefully will open its economy up a little more to defeat unemployment, boost tourism and create a much bigger boom in the business world. 2.) BPI is giving its efforts to make DOT's tagline "More Fun in the Philippines" a closer reality Ms. Natividad Alejo, Head of the Retail Segments of the Retail Group of BPI has said that innovation will make it better.  Businesses must eithe...

Even in some tourist spots, you cannot escape squatter areas. You cannot deny that squatters are definitely not a tourist spot. If there's anything the Philippines should do to increase tourism is to really get rid of the "so-called human rights" and start being more strict about squatting. Squatting is where anybody occupies land that is not theirs. It's a nuisance to hardworking Filipinos and to tourists in the Philippines to have squatters near them. One can question this- WHY IS BANGLADESH WORSE THAN THE PHILIPPINES? Looking at the abundance of squatting, it results to squatter related problems. These problems are like improper waste disposal, bad attitude, invasion of space and crime. One may consider that Bangladesh is indeed a nation that's even more behind the Philippines. The Philippines may have not reached its level but it must work itself to avoid becoming a place like Bangladesh. I am not going to elaborate in detail to what goes on considering...

Anybody can just say, "I really love my country, right?"  But there is one huge misconception behind the word "love your country".  Nationalism and patriotism are often confused with the wrong values.  Failipinos are Pinoys who have gone so bad to define nationalism and patriotism in their own warped way. Love itself is a very abused word, even often confused with lust and condoning of wrongs.  But love itself is showing one's genuine concern for the country one way or another.  If you truly love someone, it's not only showing affection but also concern.  If you have concern for someone, would you not rebuke him/her properly if he/she is wrong.  The saying goes, "You can always rebuke without loving but you can never love without rebuking." There's no doubt that love for country IS an important vaue, no questions asked.  But the question is, do you really love your country?  Now why do I say that enlightened Pinoys love their country? ...