Philippines goes on the offensive

What do you do when you are under attack? Go on the offensive, which is what Richard Gordon, Philippine Secretary of Tourism, is doing.

Undaunted by the bad press that his country has been getting in the Western media, Gordon, who calls himself "the comeback kid", launched a US$5 million consumer advertising campaign at ITB, in essence telling the trade that the Philippines isn't about to take its challenges, lying down.

The campaign, themed "It's more than the usual" and "Wow! Philippines", shows in 15-second bursts all that is unusual about the country.

Developed by Leo Burnett, it plays on humour - something Gordon is not short on. For example, he says the word "wow" stands for "warm on winter", "wealth of wonder" or "wacko over wildlife".

Gordon makes no apologies for the country's troubles in the south with the Abu Sayyaf guerillas. He says that's a problem "in a jungle where no tourists go to" and that "if we had not been concerned for human lives, we would have gone in and killed them off".

"Because of this," he says, "the Philippines has got an image that is undeserved.

"The campaign is about making our people feel good and to regain confidence. Let us get back in the race and be a player, a star destination."

Gordon says it was high time the Philippines did some serious consumer marketing. "We have nobody to blame but ourselves. Now we're doing it, and we are serious."

And he expresses confidence that major European tour operators, which have left the Philippines out of their brochures, will reinstate it. It is not featured by the giants like Kuoni UK and TUI Germany.

"I see no problem getting them to reinstate us. The question is, are you serious about it? We are putting our chips on the table."

One tour operator who is pleased that the Philippines is finally doing consumer marketing is Group Asie chairman Jean Paul Chantraine who says, "That's good news. Let's hope it does something for them."

Currently, he says, "the Philippines is dead in France."

Mark Robson, product manager-Asia for Kuoni UK, says his company will not be featuring the Philippines in the coming season despite the renewed thrust. "It's not the right time and we can't afford to go to places when things can be unstable."

In the Philippines, interviews with inbound operators show a split in opinion between those who support the campaign and those who do not think the timing is right.

"There are some of us who are pleased that something is being done at last but there are those who feel the problems should be corrected on the ground before we start selling, otherwise there may be problems in delivery," said one local operator.

The fact is, inbound operators dealing with the European market have seen business disappear, particularly from Germany and the UK. It is the Asian markets that are giving them alternate sustenance.

Gordon however is determined to fight on. "I am never demoralised. I work harder than most because I care. My job is to look after the private sector, to make tourism survive and to give people jobs. Jobs create dignity."

At Subic Bay, his previous posting, he created 60,000 jobs, he says.

Gordon says he will work on two key areas - the gradual liberalisation of its skies with Cebu Pacific emerging as the second airline and discussions with companies such as Star Cruises to bring their vessels to the country.