Melo Villareal
The Philippines Department of Tourism is going to the next level by putting a powerful focus on the web 2.0 technology of social media. The new Tourism Secretary, Ramon Jimenez is planning to make the most of social media and use it to boost tourism and the travel in the Philippines.
Social Media Tourism Impact
Last Monday, Jimenez announced in a public press release that the government is going to focus on using Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools to boost the power of new tourism campaigns and let the world know that the Philippines is open for business.
Jimenez said, “ It will be our job to excite people to want to see our country.” He went on to outline a new strategy which rather than focusing on beautiful photos will put more energy into convincing people that the Philippines is the right choice. All of this was a teaser for the new campaign he promised to unveil sometime before Christmas of this year.
The new campaign will utilize six of the Philippines largest ad firms and be the first for Jimenez as Tourism Secretary. As a 35 year veteran of the marketing industry Jimenez is uniquely suited to bring “ strategic discipline to the challenge of promoting and developing the Philippines as one of the world’s most exciting destination brands.”
While the Philippines is no stranger to new and exciting tourism campaigns, this focus on the social web is a new turn that will be watched carefully by Filipinos and those in other countries who are considering the power of social networking. The Philippines has a huge potential to offer to tourists from the world and Jimenez intends to make sure the world knows that.
“We have the best, most fascinating places to visit on earth,” he told reporters and “We’re confident we can get the utmost cooperation from other government agencies.”
Ultimately, Jimenes believes that tourism is important not only to the government but also to the people since it is them who primarily benefit with touristic businesses and jobs. The goal of tourism, Jimenez explained is to create income and jobs for Filipinos. With the people as the focus, it makes sense to have the people involved by utilizing social media.
As an online publisher long before travel blogs increased its popularity, I support the new tourism secretary’s project. Internet is the most powerful medium today because its fast, easy to access and it has a wider reach more than any other media platform.
