“Tourism is love of country as expressed as a warm welcome.”

The statement above is just one of many quotable quotes of Ad man turned Tourism Secretary, Mon Jimenez.  As one of theeight agencies pitching for Brand Philippines, the Aspac team has been thinking a lot about what we love about our country.  And what we realized is that it is a halo-halo cup filled to overflowing.

There is the Palawan Underground River that just recently made it to the initial list of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.  There is Boracay of the powder-fine sand that makes your toes happy and its party scene that makes the rest of you feel so alive. There are the UNESCO Heritage Sites like the glorious Tubbataha Reef and the gorgeous churches of Ilocos and Bohol.  There are the places that feel like the ends of the earth—the Mt Pintaubo crater and the landscape of Batanes and the spots that still feel like Eden— El Nido and Sagada.  There are the thousand nameless eateries where you can eat seafood caught early that morning and then there are luxurious restaurants where you can eat the finest global cuisine.  There is San Miguel beer (which we think is one of the best in the world) that you can sip while watching surfers catch the swells in Siargao or that you can hold on to as you brave a karaoke song at a local bar.  We can go on and on!

But beyond all those sights, we realized that what we and rest of the world loved most about the Philippines was us– the Filipino people.  As an earlier post described, we have innate gifts that are uniquely our own that make us, among many things, artistic and God-centered, gentle yet fun. An experience in the Philippines is extraordinary because it is experienced alongside an extraordinary people.

Yes, there are still a lot to fix in our country, but we are getting there.  There is hope and enthusiasm in the air.  We can choose to look at the glass half full and revel at the goodness of what is there.

We are doing the best we can to capture all this love in a communications plan for the country.  But win or lose, our dearest wish is that whatever Philippine campaign will run in the world, it will inspire visitors to come and fall in love too.

Photo by Mon Corpuz