Tourism chief defends new 'We Give the World our Best' country branding

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12) — "We Give the World our Best" is a "statement of fact," said the country's tourism chief in response to critics of the new Philippine branding seen in an advertisement in the United Kingdom.

"There is a sea of opinions about this," said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco during an event on Thursday. "But I would like to remind our fellow Filipinos that the statement 'We give the world our best' is a statement of fact. Do you not agree?"

She said the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications (OPACC) came up with the idea.

Senator Nancy Binay, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Tourism, has raised concerns over the messaging, particularly in the ad which showed Filipino British nurse May Parsons, along with the lines "We give the world our best. The Philippines." Parsons was the first to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to a patient.

Binay called the ad "vague," adding it may imply that the Philippines is a labor-exporting country that treats its people as a commodity. 

On the other hand, Frasco said the Tourism Department fully supports the ad campaign, which she said tells the world that "the Philippines has no intention of putting out [anything] less than the best."

"That translates to everything that permeates our sense of hospitality and service as a tourism industry," she said.

"That idea is translated further into what we have to offer in the Philippines. We have the best beaches, the best sites, the best nature destinations, and we have the best tour guides," Frasco added.

The tourism chief clarified that the OPACC idea was not the country's new tourism brand. She noted that the DOT has yet to present one that is "aligned with the country brand" and enhances the present tagline.

Binay earlier reiterated her call for the department to consider deferring its rebranding campaign which is costly. Instead, she urged the agency to continue using the "It's More Fun in the Philippines" slogan and to just come up with fresh permutations.

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