Sustaining a Country Brand: The Changing Landscape of the Philippines Tourism Campaigns

Abstract

The tourism industry has become one of the key factors for economic growth and development of the country's reputation. Countries carefully consider the principles of branding as a strategic tool to convey their vision, shared values, and cultural identity to the global community. This approach serves as an essential instrument in shaping international reputation, shaping the country’s distinct brand image. Using the Philippines as a case, it inquired the strategies and shifts of communication approaches of the country’s tourism agency and investigated whether the concept of brand sustainability is inherent in the management of tourism promotions. The paper advanced two claims; first, despite the frequent changes of tourism slogans of the country, the objective of instilling a sense of national pride among Filipinos and establishing global recognition for the Philippines is still inherent in most of the communication campaigns. Second, shifts in the campaigns while sticking to the country's vision of international reputation is needed to be able to adapt to the changing landscape of market behavior. The study further revealed that changes in tourism promotion strategies can be perceived as an act of proactively seeking opportunities for improvement to be able to establish a resilient, and sustainable country brand.