Starting Monday, ‘Pilipinas Kay Ganda’ will greet tourists

Starting Monday, the Philippines will adopt “Pilipinas kay Ganda" as its new slogan in what Malacañang described as a bid to "reinvigorate" the country's tourism campaign. President Benigno Aquino III said the new slogan to be launched Nov. 15 will replace the existing slogan "WOW Philippines". The slogan aims to "reinvigorate our country’s tourism campaign and double tourist arrivals within the next three years," said a Malacañang statement posted Saturday night on the Presidential Communications Operations Office website. Aquino, who is now in Japan for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, said the government will also train tourist police and guides to ensure the safety of local and foreign tourists alike. Earlier this month, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said it would allocate P100 million for new media promotions, including a new website, to reach its goal of doubling tourist arrivals. (See: Govt to beef up RP tourism using new media — DOT) Philippine tourism suffered a blow last Aug. 23 when retired police officer Rolando Mendoza took hostage a busful of Hong Kong tourists in Manila. Mendoza was killed along with eight tourists, prompting Hong Kong to issue a "black" alert discouraging travel to the Philippines.—JV, GMANews.TV