MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Each year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) spends big bucks to create international campaigns to promote Philippine tourism.
Past campaigns promoted internationally-recognized tourist spots like the Banaue Rice Terraces, Palawan’s Underground River, Bohol’s Chocolate Hills, Albay’s Mayon Volcano, and the miles and miles of white sand beaches all over the islands.
This year, DOT has decided to promote the country’s people — beautiful people. And it is not going to cost taxpayers a single centavo.
Instead of producing expensive commercials to show on international TV, DOT will use the latest Emperador TV commercial featuring actor Coco Martin.
In this commercial, Martin sings his way through the 30-minute video, surrounded by all good-looking Filipinos — from his friends to traffic police to jeepney drivers to road construction workers.
The message behind the commercial: Philippines is the land of (all) beautiful people.
In a way, the people are among the country’s greatest natural resources.