DON’T look now, but a former secretary of the Department of Tourism (DOT) supports the recent launching of the Philippine government’s new tourism slogan.

The new slogan – Love the Philippines – is aimed at revitalizing the multi-billion-dollar tourist industry, which remains as a major pillar of the country’s economy.

Launched last Tuesday at the historic Manila Hotel near sun-kissed Manila Bay, the tourism department’s new slogan replaced its “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.”

Admittedly, the earnings of the dollar-oriented tourist industry, like the highly-successful overseas employment program, continue to help prop up the domestic economy.

Former Tourism Secretary Richard “Dick” Gordon, a long-time member of the Philippine Senate, described the new slogan of the DOT as “catchy and easy to recall.”

“It will also serve as a double meaning call for Filipinos to love the country because we are well-endowed with natural beauty…and people share excellent traits,” he added.

Of course, we, like the rest of the Filipino people, share Gordon’s view that the slogan will be meaningful if land, air and port infrastructure are continuously enhanced.

Note that Gordon coined and popularized the slogan “WOW Philippines,” when he was DOT top honcho from 2001 to 2004.

Certainly, the former DOT secretary from Olongapo City knows what he is talking about since he is the acknowledged principal author of the Tourism Act of 2009.

In the view of many, by replacing the old slogan, the national government, through the DOT, is on track responding to global tourism events and trends.

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