Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim has been quoted by media as having said that nothing has yet been spent from the P200 million budget for the…
Making life worth living.
Category: Travel
Campaigns & Grey was called by DOT for advice on a new branding exercise. There was hesitation on our end as we were familiar with the complex bidding process, and we were still owed by the past administration for services rendered. Our love for country prevailed.
From the beginning, it was clear that the actual campaign would be bidded out and that our work was merely to establish preliminary strategic directions. But suddenly, there was a pressing need for exploratory concepts to be shown in some travel industry events. Again, we warned the client that we were taking too many shortcuts. But it was agreed that there will be a proper market research where multiple concepts will be thoroughly tested among the target market i.e. North America, Korea, Japan, China etc. Through this whole episode, we did not have a contract nor did we receive a single centavo.
Tourism Undersecretary Vicente Romano invites volunteers to help rebuild DOT website: Romano Help the DOT build the website
Based on available market data, ‘Pilipinas Kay Ganda!’ was developed as one of 5 concepts for testing among the target segments. The intention of this particular concept was to come up with a novel line that visitors would find memorable, similar to Hawaii’s ‘Aloha’ or even the Japanese ‘Irasshaimase!’ and help regain the Filipino pride in the long run.
The pictures below once again prove what Abraham Lincoln said that ““You may fool all the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time.”
The Department of Tourism unveiled last Monday the Pilipinas Kay Ganda logo that would now be the Philippines’ symbol replacing Dick Gordon’s “Wow Philippines.”
Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said in his speech during the launch that when they presented to President Aquino the logo,”He even gave his own inputs in terms of colors and other visual elements, which are now part of the brand..”
It turned out that what was bandied as a product of a four-month study and testing, which we imagine cost taxpayers a hefty sum, was a copy of Poland’s tourism logo.
(Thanks to Dennis Garcia for the above images.)
We are relieved to hear from Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim and his Undersecretary Vicente Romano that they are open to changes about their much-ridiculed “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” promotions thrust.
In his complaint relayed personally during the APEC summit to leaders of countries that issued a travel advisory warning their citizens about going to the Philippines, President Aquino mentioned about the November 15 launching of a new tourism logo.
Less than 24 hours after “Pilipinas kay Ganda” was previewed (it was not yet the launching, Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim stressed) the accompanying site – www.beautifulpilipinas.com- was taken off because they found out that there’s an existing porn website also using the key words “beautifulpilipinas.”
Why they didn’t find this out before the preview defies common sense.
Ito ang kuwento ni dating congressman Ruffy Biazon at ng kanyang asawang si Trina na sinulat nila sa kanyang blogs.
Nagbakasyon daw sila sa Boracay, sakay ng Cebu Pacific noong isang linggo. Okay ang biyahe nila papunta. Okay rin ang kanilang bakasyon. Ang kanilang horror story ay nangyari noong pabalik na sila sa Manila.
Sabi ni Ruffy, meron daw offer ang Cebu Pacific na kung gusto mo, pumili ka ng upuan mo in advance. Magbayad ka lang ng extra. Dahil kasama niya ang tatlong anak na ang pinaka-bunso ay apat na taong gulang ( ang isa ay 8 at ang pinakamatanda ay 15 taong gulang), nagpa-reserve sila at nag bayad ng extra. Anim sila, kasama ang yaya.
Nang sumakay na sila at naka-upo na sila sa front row, dahil yun ang kanilang pina-reserve, pinapalipat sila dahil bawal daw ang batang mas bata kaysa 15 taong gulang sa upuan nay un dahil yun ang nasa-exit.
Nagpapasalamat ako kay Atty. Melvin Matibag,general manager ng Manila International Airport Authority, sa kanyang aksyon agad sa tangkang panloloko na ginawa ng driver ng Yellow taxi sa akin noong Biyernes.
Noong Linggo, tinawagan niya ako at sinabi niyang dinala na ng taxi operator ang taxi driver sa kanyang opisina at pinatawan ng kaukulang parusa: hindi na siya makapagbiyahe sa airport. Banned na siya.
Sabi ni GM Matibag, galit talaga siya sa mga mandurugas na taxi drivers sa airport dahil nag laking kasiraan ang kanilang binibigay sa bansa.
Update: MIAA GM Melvin Matibag informed me today (June 27) that the driver was apprehended and is being investigated. He said the driver will be banned from the airport.
Dumating ako noong Biyernes galing Zamboanga mga 5:30 ng hapon sakay ng Philippine Airlines.
Katulad ng dati kung gawi, dumeretso ako sa pilahan ng Yellow Taxi. Walang pila. Dadalawa lang kaming pasahero ang nandoon.Sianbi ko sa taong naglilista ang aking pangalan at ang aking destinasyon: Las Pinas. Binigyan niya ako ng parang tiket at tinulungan ako ng isa nilang empleyado papunta sa nakapilang taxi.
Kaya ako sumasakay sa Yellow taxi dahil gumagamit sila ng metro. May mga airport taxi na fixed rate, mas mahal.
Medyo mataas ang flag down ng Yellow Taxi. P70 pesos yata. Okay lang sa akin yan kaysa pupunta pa ako sa malayo at makipagtawaran pa sa mga colorum na taxi. Grabe magtaga ang mga colorum taxi doon sa airport.
I can imagine the stress and the emotions that were caused by the cancellation of 50 domestic and international flights last Saturday due to the breakdown an antiquated navigational equipment at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Reports said NAIA’s Very High Frequency Omni-Directional Radio Range (VOR) — a device that directs aircrafts to the runway especially when there is poor visibility – broke down which caused Cebu Pacific several of its flights. Same thing with Dragon Air and Zest Air.
Philippine Air lines diverted the landing of three of their flights at the height of heavy rains when visibility became zero.
Flights have resumed although the VOR is still being repaired. Quoting a technical assistant of Alfonso Cusi, who is now head of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, and is the one in charge of the VOR, said they borrowed the equipment at the Subic International Airport.
Atty. Melvin Matibag, the new general manager of the Manila International Airport, said the VOR is just one of the navigational equipments and airport operations can continue without it. In fact he said, Cebu Pacific had resumed flights Sunday even if the VOR is still being repaired.
Maayos ang Philippine Airlines Flight 103 na galing Los Angeles, California kahit na dalawang toilet lang ang nagagamit dahil sira ang dalawa.
Mabusisi lang ngayon ang security check sa mga airports sa U.S dahil sa nangyaring pagtangka na naman ng Al Qaeda na magpasabog ng isang American na airline sa araw ng Christmas noong isang buwan.
Nahuli si Umar Farouk Abdulmutrallab, 23 taong gulang na Nigerian, sa Northwest Airline flight na nanggaling sa Amsterdam patungong Detroit ng may umusok sa kanyang katawan. Mabuti naagapan. Nakakulong na siya ngayon ay nakaharap sa maraming kaso.
Sea tragedies have become become common occurrences during the holiday season when city folks go home to the province to spend Christmas with families and relatives.
We never learn our lesson.Every tragedy, we bewail the overloading, the poor vessel maintenance and the questionable capabilities of the crew. But after the stories have ceased to be headline news, we go back to our usual slipshod “bahala na” attitude until the next tragedy.
The past week has seen two sea tragedies that claimed hundred of lives caused miseries to families in this supposedly season of joy.