It's More Fun In The Philippines!

The new slogan of the Department of Tourism in its campaign to boost the number of foreign visitors to the country, has been met with both acclaim and derision.


The leakage of the slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” in online social networks way before its official launch was welcomed as free publicity for the country by Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.
Tourism officials, however, do not have the luxury of having fun lurking on Twitter or Facebook to gauge public reaction to the re-engineered marketing campaign.

They need to work double time to finish the construction of the Philippines’ new tourism portal.

As of last weekend, netizens who logged on to www.itsmorefuninthephilippines.com see on the site’s index page could only see a slideshow of George Tapan’s photographs of climbing the Banawe Rice Terraces(with the text “Getting upstairs. More fun in the Philippines”); swimming with a whale shark (“Status updates. More fun in the Philippines”) and riding a banca (“Commuting. More fun in the Philippines”).

A brief statement in part reads: “Wherever you go in the Philippines, it’s the Filipinos that will make your holiday unforgettable… In fact, Lonely Planet guidebook calls us ‘among the most easygoing and ebullient people anywhere.’ Find out for yourself why it’s more fun in the Philippines. And make the most out of your next vacation.”

The website should be finished soon for it to make the most out of the curiosity-driven frequency of page hits. In the meantime, critics who slam the new slogan as a rip-off of a six-decade-old Swiss tourism advertisement should give their lament a rest and re-channel their energies into bridging the disconnect between the slogan and many of the nation’s realities.

Instead of complaining because of the DOT’s use of a supposedly pre-loved line (we give Jimenez the benefit of the doubt, that the campaign is no copycat), why not accept it as a challenge to prove that it’s indeed more fun here than in Switzerland or any other place on earth?

For a change, some critics might consider refraining from spoiling the fun, which they do by their constant mimicking of the shrew. Then, the rest of the naggers may lighten up and stop flagellating self and neighbor with their sarcastic litany (“Traffic. It’s more fun in the Philippines;” “Pollution. It’s more fun the Philippines;” “Robberies. It’s more fun in the Philippines;” “Bloody drinking and videoke sessions. It’s more fun in the Philippines.”)

Every Filipino knows in their heart of hearts that it takes more than just a slogan to vanquish the poverty and corruption that plague the land. Wasting time and energy fighting over the battle catchphrase does not help.

Source: Inquirer News

EasyJet launches 2012 cheap flight schedule

Airline

easyJet launches 2012 cheap flight schedule

easyJet has launched its summer 2012 schedule with a choice of more than 300 destinations. 

The announcement follows the airline’s recognition as Europe’s Leading Low-cost Airline at the World Travel Awards earlier this month. 

More than 110,000 flights are now on sale to destinations throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, with 18 million seats available for travel from March 25th through to September 2nd 2012.

Capacity has been added to popular leisure and business destinations including Barcelona, Alicante, Madrid and Rome, making travel with Europe’s preferred airline even easier for passengers travelling from easyJet’s ten UK bases. 

With fares starting from just £21.99 (one way including taxes) passengers will benefit from the airline’s most comprehensive selection of destinations next summer - from traditional Spanish sunshine getaways and popular European city breaks, to more exotic holidays off the beaten-track to locations including Israel, Jordan and Morocco. 

Peak summer seats for easyJet’s newest base, London Southend Airport, will also go on sale for the first time with a choice of eight destinations; Amsterdam, Alicante, Barcelona, Belfast, Faro, Ibiza, Malaga and Mallorca. 

Paul Simmons, easyJet’s UK Director said: “With winter fast approaching, the launch of our summer 2012 schedule allows passengers to look forward and book early to secure the best fares for annual sunshine holidays and weekend getaways next year. 

“Business passengers can also benefit from easy and affordable travel to the widest range of European city destinations yet, to central airports at convenient times. 

“In addition to this we’re adding even more choice in 2012 with the announcement of a host of new destinations from our UK bases in the coming weeks – so watch this space.” 

Source: Breaking Travel News