President Benigno S. Aquino III will to promote the Philippines as a top tourist destination through the Department of Tourism s It s more fun in the Philippines campaign during his official visit here in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
President Aquino, who is set to arrive here in UK at around 9 p.m. Monday (London time), will have a photoshoot with London-based DOT/DFA officials handling the It s More Fun in the Philippines program as part of his busy schedule here. His visit to London is his first to the UK and Europe since he assumed office in 2010.
The President will be accompanied by eight Cabinet officials and several Filipino businessmen who will look into enhancing reciprocal investment, trade and tourism opportunities between the Philippines and UK.
According to DOT, the country s tourism campaign has been warmly welcomed in the UK. It said London has thrown its full support for the Philippines tourism build up by donning its iconic double-decker buses, taxi cabs and underground stations with the different faces of the Philippines.
Now, 25 double-decker buses and 50 black cabs sporting a uniform design of the slogan, logo, and different faces of the Philippines are now spotted around the bustling streets of London (while) images of the world-famous Ifugao Rice Terraces and the Puerto Princesa Underground River, both proclaimed as World Heritage Sites, are also found at the subway stations, the DOT said.
The Philippine DOT is the very first national tourism organization to advertise through the digital platform of taxis owned by Verifone Media.
The London cabs come with a 30-minute digital ad which features the 30-seconder It s more fun in the Philippines TVC (television commercial) and the 15-seconder tarsier TVC recently launched worldwide via CNN.
Media hype through the London cabs will continue to run until early next year, with the opportunity to capture the millions of visitors and household viewers of the Queen s Jubilee, the London 2012 Olympics, and the season 2012-2013 of the Fulham Football Club of the English Premier League.
The world will now start to see that It s More Fun in the Philippines is not just a bunch of words on a streamer. It is a competitive argument for choosing the Philippines as one of the world s top tourist destinations.
Philippine tourism is poised to surge forward as we launch more aggressive initiatives to reinvigorate the industry and work towards achieving our 10M target by 2016, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said.
During his official visit here, President Aquino will have a series of business meetings with top British investors such as Rolls Royce and Cebu Pacific, Aboitiz Equity Ventures Gas Project, Shell and Nestle, among others.
President Aquino will have an opportunity to meet with His Royal Highness the Duke of York Prince Andrew at the Buckingham Palace. He will also have a separate meeting Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth s government will also offer a lunch for the President to be presided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Jeremy Browne and the Lord Mayor of London Alderman David Wootton at the Lancaster House.