New Tourism chief: PHL not difficult to 'sell'

Newly-appointed acting Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said on Thursday "selling" the Philippines should be as easy as selling fastfood. “The Philippines should be as easy to sell as chicken joy," Jimenez said at a press briefing in Malacañang after taking his oath Thursday morning before Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. “This (the Philippines) is the most beautiful country in the world. One of the ten most beautiful countries in the world. There is no reason we won’t succeed (in selling it)," he added. Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO), said Jimenez was appointed in an acting capacity because the Congress is already in session. Jimenez' papers will be submitted to the Commission on Appointments which will tackle his appointment in their next session. Carandang said Jimenez has been in the field of marketing communications for a total of 35 years, and is considered one of the pillars of Philippine advertising. He has spent most of his professional career as writer, creative director, or executive for the country’s top advertising agencies, even founding and serving as CEO of JimenezBasic. Before his appointment, he was Joint Chief Executive Officer and Senior Consultant at WOO Consultants, sharing his expertise with a number of successful corporations. Jimenez has worked as a Journalism and Marketing Communications instructor in some of the country’s most renowned universities, and is a sought-after lecturer for many successful corporations such as the San Miguel Corporation and the Jollibee Group. Simple approach Jimenez said the trick in selling the Philippines is taking a simple approach. “Campaigns are hinged on simplicity of proposition, it is not all infrastructure but more about single mindedness of image," he said. He cited the example of Mexico, the most visited place in America, and how it is equated to popular cultural symbols like taco or ponchos. “The image of Mexico is very clear. You can see tacos, white brimmed hats, ponchos," he said. He said the Philippines should be marketed in a similar way. He believed that he can rally his staff, tourism practitioners, the bureaucracy and the public to the idea that tourism is the people’s business. “Ang turismo ay negosyo ng taumbayan. As such, our ultimate goal is not merely to improve statistics on tourist arrivals but our target is to generate fulfilling income and employment for people," he said. Apprehensions In an interview with Filipino reporters in Beijing late Wednesday night, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III named Jimenez as the new head of the DOT. Jimenez said he had apprehensions when the post was offered to him but decided to disregard it when he accepted the post. “Hindi pwedeng pumasok sa trabaho at ang unang papasok sa utak mo paano kung matanggal ako dito. Kung tatanggap ka ng appointment o kung maga-apply ka sa trabaho, your only focus is to do well," he said. “That I will be subject to removal in the future, that’s not my problem, that’s the President’s problem. That’s his decision, he’s going to agonize over that, not me. My job is to do it," he added. No reshuffling Jimenez said he has no plan to reshuffle the personnel at the tourism department yet. “Reshuffle? No I’m not there yet. Like I said I’ve been on the job technically for a few minutes," he aid. He just asked his staff to help him do the job. “My message to the staff which I can share with you now very simply is ang turismo ay negosyo ng taumbayan, so if you believe that as I do, help me achieve it," Jimenez said. Carandang said Jimenez will replace and inherit “the good work of Secretary Alberto Lim, who has laid the foundations for the continued growth of our tourism industry." “We are confident that with his expertise, Secretary Jimenez will be able to build on the success of our tourism sector and expand the markets of this country’s tourism hubs," he said. He added the President, together with the entire Executive branch of government, welcomes Secretary Jimenez to the official family and looks forward to the growth of the tourism industry and to the improved global profile of many of the country’s tourist destinations. Tourism board Asked how will he deal with the members of the Tourism board who earlier opposed some of the policies of Lim, Jimenez said he will reach out to them. “Dealing with people means you deal with them, you deal with them as friends and that is how I intend to approach them. I’m not going in thinking that there are problems, I can’t afford to (deal with). So we will reach out to as many people as we can," he said. He said Lim has already briefed him on “what I needed to know to take on the job. It covered all of that" including the open skies policy and China issue. - VVP, GMA News