ohio tourism slogan

Ohio brings back old tourism branding with a new look

A slogan that Ohio used to bring in tourists for more than 15 years in the '80s and '90s is back. The old brand is part of a new plan to promote Ohio as a tourism destination but also a potential home.

The "Heart of It All" replaces "Find It Here," which was widely criticized when it was unveiled in 2016. Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik says going back to the old brand makes sense as the state tries to bring together its strategy for attracting tourists as well as potential residents.

"The changing of the brand — Ohio, the heart of it all — is really a more inclusive and more holistic way to talk about all of the great things that are happening here in the state of Ohio," said Mihalik.

The state says 233 million tourists spent $53 billion in Ohio last year, the highest spending ever, and up 13% from 2021. And the state's annual report says more than 424,000 Ohio jobs are linked to tourism.

Before adopting "Find It Here," the state was using the line "So Much To Discover" for its tourism marketing from 2001 to 2016.

The "Heart of It All" slogan was launched in 1984, under Democratic former Gov. Dick Celeste. He said Gov. Mike DeWine "whispered into my ear a few days ago that the slogan was going to be reborn" when they saw each other at the Ohioana Book Festival a few weeks ago.

Celeste said he was "delighted," and said the slogan "captures both something about our history, something about our geography, and I think something about our state of mind."

Along with that, "water in Ohio is is at the heart of our nation's freshwater resources," said Celeste. He said water will be a critical element of the economy in the future, "so I think I think in many respects, it is a forward looking slogan, not a backward looking slogan."

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Gov. DeWine unveils reimagined version of the previous state slogan: 'Ohio, The Heart of it All'

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio officials announced Wednesday during an Ohio Tourism Day celebration that the state will resume use of the “Ohio, The Heart of it All” tagline.

What You Need To Know

 gov. dewine announced a reimagined state slogan "ohio, the heart of it all"  the slogan was last used between 1984 and 2001 and is meant to promote ohio as a great place to both visit and live  accompanying brand videos will be a song by akron soul band wesley bright and the honeytones.

The announcement was made by Gov. Mike DeWine with First Lady Fran DeWine, Lt. Gov Jon Husted and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik. The tagline is meant to promote Ohio as a place to visit and a place to live. It was last used between 1984 and 2001. 

The slogan remains the same but is now accompanied by a new logo and new brand strategies. While promoted through social media, radio and videos, the song “Must be the Love” by Wesley Bright & the Honeytones , a soul band from Akron, will play. 

“As Ohio evolves into a powerhouse for technology and innovation, we're looking at the classic "Ohio, The Heart of it All" tagline in a new way," said Gov. DeWine. “Our state is thriving, and we want the world to know that Ohio is the heart of technology, the heart of opportunity, the heart of adventure, and the heart of family. This is a brand for all of Ohio, uniting everything we love about our great state under one powerful phrase.”  

The state is promoting a message that Ohio offers job opportunities, family-friendly communities, and a great quality of life as well as tourism-related events and attractions. 

“Tourism is big business in Ohio, but it’s only part of the puzzle,” said Lt. Gov. Husted. “We want to be champions for the state of Ohio. Moving forward, we’re going to be more intentional about attracting not only visitors, but also people who want to live, learn, and work here.”

Tourism is a large industry in Ohio, bringing in 233 million visitors and $53 billion in 2022. For residents of Ohio, the tourism industry supports more than 400,000 season, part-time and full-time jobs. 

“The tourism and economic development messages can’t be separated anymore,” said Ohio Department of Development Director Mihalik. “The ‘Ohio, The Heart of it All’ theme reinforces the idea that people can have amazing adventures and memorable moments by visiting here, but they also can build their careers, their homes, and their families here.” 

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New 'Heart of it All' signs going up to welcome people to Ohio

The ohio department of transportation’s sign shop in columbus manufactured all 36 new signs..

When driving across state lines into Ohio, travelers are faced with a sign that reads “Ohio. Find it Here,” but now, travelers will be welcomed with a new slogan that was once familiar. 

In May, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Ohio would return to its old slogan , “Ohio, The Heart of it All.” Now, the new signage is starting to be installed on U.S. and interstate routes.

“Ohio, The Heart of it All” was the state’s tourism slogan between 1984 and the early 2000s and was followed by “Ohio, So Much to Discover" during Republican Gov. Bob Taft's tenure.

Ohio’s most recent slogan, “Ohio. Find it Here,” was launched in 2015 during Gov. John Kasich's administration .

Sarah Wickham, state tourism director for the Ohio Department of Development, said the new slogan would allow Ohio to not only be talked about as a travel and tourism destination, but also as a great place to live.

“For the last several years, we’ve encouraged Ohioans to ‘Find it Here,’ and millions of them have,” Wickham said. “But ultimately, that brand, although a great tourism brand, didn’t serve all the purposes we needed. We needed a new brand that was more inclusive and that told more of Ohio’s story.”

Wickham said “Ohio, The Heart of it All” is a brand that has resonated with Ohioans for years.

“And with Intel and Google making investments in our state, we are the heart of technology and opportunity,” Wickham said. “Those companies need employees.”

The Ohio Department of Transportation’s Sign Shop in Columbus manufactured all 36 new signs in three weeks, according to Joshua Wilson, ODOT sign shop administrator. The signs cost nearly $60,000 to make.

In addition to the signs on highways, ODOT is working on smaller signs for some of the other two-lane routes coming into Ohio, according to Matt Bruning, ODOT press secretary.

“These will be the new look, the new brand for the state of Ohio,” Bruning said. “That will be the welcome mat to the state of Ohio to show people they’re coming into the state, and certainly show off that new look that we have for the brand for the state of Ohio.”

The goal is to have all signs installed by the end of the year.

Kayla Bennett is a fellow in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism's Statehouse News Bureau.

Ohio brings back old tourism branding with a new look

A slogan that Ohio used to bring in tourists for more than 15 years in the '80s and '90s is back. The old brand is part of a new plan to promote Ohio as a tourism destination but also a potential home.

The "Heart of It All" replaces "Find It Here," which was widely criticized when it was unveiled in 2016. Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik says going back to the old brand makes sense as the state tries to bring together its strategy for attracting tourists as well as potential residents.

"The changing of the brand — Ohio, the heart of it all — is really a more inclusive and more holistic way to talk about all of the great things that are happening here in the state of Ohio," said Mihalik.

The state says 233 million tourists spent $53 billion in Ohio last year, the highest spending ever, and up 13% from 2021. And the state's annual report says more than 424,000 Ohio jobs are linked to tourism.

Before adopting "Find It Here," the state was using the line "So Much To Discover" for its tourism marketing from 2001 to 2016.

The "Heart of It All" slogan was launched in 1984, under Democratic former Gov. Dick Celeste. He said Gov. Mike DeWine "whispered into my ear a few days ago that the slogan was going to be reborn" when they saw each other at the Ohioana Book Festival a few weeks ago.

Celeste said he was "delighted," and said the slogan "captures both something about our history, something about our geography, and I think something about our state of mind."

Along with that, "water in Ohio is is at the heart of our nation's freshwater resources," said Celeste. He said water will be a critical element of the economy in the future, "so I think I think in many respects, it is a forward looking slogan, not a backward looking slogan."

Ohio announces new tourism slogan

The state of Ohio has turned to the past to find its tourism slogan for the future.

In a press conference held this morning in honor of Ohio Tourism Today, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, alongside Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, unveiled a new tourism slogan for the Buckeye State. Replacing “Ohio, Find it Here” will be:

“Ohio, the Heart of it All”

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And while we say new, we also mean old, because the slogan was used starting in 1984 to promote tourism, before being replaced by “Ohio, So Much to Discover,” in the early 2000s.

“I am excited to announce we are returning to something familiar, something with an emotional connection, something with heart,” DeWine said of the slogan.

In addition to the state’s heart shape and its location within the heartland of America, he cited a number of other reasons for the slogan change, referring to Ohio as the “heart of opportunity,” the “heart of adventure,” and now, nodding to recent investments from Intel, Google and Honda, the “heart of technology.”

In case you were curious, here’s a list of the state’s tourism slogans throughout the years:

1984 – Early 2000s : Ohio, the Heart of it All Early 2000s-2015 : Ohio, So Much to Discover 2015-2023 : Ohio, Find it Here Starting Today : Ohio, the Heart of it All

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What’s old is new again, Ohio brings back tourism slogan

by: Joe Carroll

Posted: May 10, 2023 / 11:29 AM EDT

Updated: May 10, 2023 / 11:29 AM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WANE) Ohio officials including Governor Mike DeWine announced Wednesday that a tourism slogan used by the state between 1984 and 2001 is coming back.

“Ohio, The Heart of it All,” will be used to promote the state as a tourist destination as well as a great place to live, learn, work, and raise a family.

“As Ohio evolves into a powerhouse for technology and innovation, we’re looking at the classic “Ohio, The Heart of it All” tagline in a new way,” said Governor DeWine. “Our state is thriving, and we want the world to know that Ohio is the heart of technology, the heart of opportunity, the heart of adventure, and the heart of family. This is a brand for all of Ohio , uniting everything we love about our great state under one powerful phrase.”  

The new logo and refreshed brand will be promoted through social media posts, radio, and brand videos running on broadcast, Connected TV, and YouTube set to the song “Must be the Love” by Wesley Bright & The Honeytones , a soul band from Akron. The logo was designed by Columbus-based Ron Foth Advertising. 

The previous tourism slogan was, “Ohio. Find it Here.”

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Ohio spending millions on new effort to get people to visit and then move here

• The state's tourism arm is using a portion of its $10 million-a-year budget to attract Midwesterners to spend more time in Ohio.
• Ohio's population growing less than the rest of the Midwest.
• Ohio is spending $3.6 million on marketing for its new tourism slogan, "Ohio, the Heart of it All," alone in May and June.

Ohio wants you to come to visit, but it would rather you stay awhile.

The state's tourism arm is using a portion of its $10 million-a-year budget to attract Midwesterners to spend more time in the Buckeye State than a weekend trip to Hocking Hills or Cedar Point.

That's because Ohio needs more workers to attract businesses like Intel and Honda to manufacture microchips and electric vehicle batteries here. The state's population grew by a mere 2.3% between 2010 and 2020, outpaced by a 7.4% increase nationwide and a 3.1% increase in the Midwest over that decade, according to U.S. Census Bureau data .

But some in Ohio's tourism industry worry that the state is spreading itself too thin, spending money to market the state that was intended for attracting visitors. And Ohio Senate changes would cut that budget to $7.5 million a year.

"There are all kinds of reasons why we want to attract people to live in Ohio. We support that," said Andy Herf, executive director Ohio Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus. "But in making that decision, a lot of people are going to become familiar with Ohio by traveling here first. We don’t want to lose focus on that tourism messaging."

John Barker, president & CEO of the Ohio Restaurant Association, questions whether $10 million, or less, a year can cover attracting both visitors and future residents. "I’m not sure that’s going to be enough," he said.

Ohio is spending $3.6 million on marketing for its new tourism slogan, "Ohio, the Heart of it All," alone in May and June. The campaign included television ads, billboards and wallscapes in both Ohio (a $2.1 million spend) and surrounding states ($1.5 million), according to the Ohio Department of Development.

But Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik says the same message that will bring someone to Ohio for a long weekend will also entice them to stay much longer.

"Whether you're getting people to consider a visit or whether we're getting them to consider a move, we're all still talking about the same places," Mihalik said. "We've got a great story in Ohio to tell and we feel very strongly if we continue to be bold about our advocacy for Ohio, we're going to be very successful."

Why Ohio needs more people

Ohio, like many Midwestern states, hasn't kept up with population growth in other parts of the country.

Between 2020 and 2022, 68 of Ohio's 88 counties lost population, according to Census estimates . Most of the state's growth has been focused in central Ohio and the counties surrounding Cincinnati.

Ohio is also among the states with the oldest population with 17.8% of its residents over 65 years old compared to 16.8% nationally. Maine and Florida both topped 21%, according to 2021 Census data.

As Intel breaks ground on its $20 billion computer chip plants in New Albany outside Columbus, the company needs workers.

"We're creating jobs faster than we can find people to fill them," Mihalik said. "Because of our demographic trends, we know that the fastest way that we can get people to the state of Ohio to fill those jobs is through migration."

Who is Ohio trying to attract?

In pursuit of new residents, Ohio is picking a bit of a fight with its neighbor to the north. Ohio is paying for billboards in Detroit touting the state's charm as "The Heart of it All" − Ohio's new tourism slogan resurrected from the 1980s .

"We've garnered a ton of earned media just by putting a couple of wallscapes in downtown Detroit," Mihalik said. "It's playful. It was intentional. We wanted to get people up there talking."

Media in Detroit and Columbus reported on the billboards. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hit back on Twitter: "Michigan: Always living in Ohio’s head rent-free."

Whitmer, a Democrat, has promoted Michigan as a more welcoming alternative to Ohio, particularly for LGBTQ residents and those seeking abortions. In her State of the State address , Whitmer said: "I’ll go to any state that restricts people’s freedoms and win business and hardworking people from them. I’m looking at you, Ohio and Indiana."

Detroit isn't Ohio tourism's only target. Ohio is promoting its message in 28 markets with ads in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Eight of those markets are within Ohio, convincing residents to take a trip to a park or attraction on the other side of the state.

A proposed change in the state budget would rename TourismOhio as the State Marketing Office, charging it to promote not just tourism but also "living, learning, and working" in Ohio.

Where does Ohio market itself? · Jessie Balmert

But Herf points out that Ohio's budget for attracting both residents and visitors is smaller than some of those states' allocations for tourism alone. Michigan spends $40 million on its "Pure Michigan" campaign, according to MLive.com . West Virginia recently allocated $67 million for tourism over two years and Kentucky announced it would spend $75 million in federal recovery dollars to attract visitors after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wanted to spend $50 million on a marketing campaign to convince East Coast and West Coast residents to live and work in the Buckeye State. During his pitch, he called Ohio "a progressive state," which drew immediate backlash from those who said the GOP-controlled Legislature's pro-gun, anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ policies were anything but progressive.

Lawmakers later canned DeWine's proposed spending. JobsOhio did create billboards touting Ohio's low cost of living compared to New York City's and other large metropolises.

Barker with the Ohio Restaurant Association said Ohio needs to stay competitive with its neighbors. The state's culinary scene can help do the rest. Ohio had four James Beard award nominees in 2023 and well-known restaurants from chef Michael Symon 's establishments in Cleveland and Cincinnati restaurateur Jeff Ruby's steakhouses.

"We fight above our weight," Barker said. Ohio tourism had a record year in 2022 , attracting 233 million visitors to spend $53 billion in the state.

Do ads bring people to Ohio?

At the end of the day, will an ad convince someone to move to Ohio?

People move to Ohio for a variety of reasons, including family (43.6%), jobs (39.2%) and retirement (10%), according to a 2021 United Van Lines' survey . The survey did not review the impact of states' marketing or incentives, a spokesperson said.

Lifestyle, at 9%, was lower on the list. Democrats say Republican politicians who control state government aren't rolling out the welcome mat with policies that alienate LGBTQ Ohioans and women seeking abortions or other reproductive options.

And Ohioans had a more favorable view of the state than those considering a move, according to research provided by TourismOhio, the state's tourism arm.

Likely movers were less likely to think of Ohio as a state with options for outdoor activities (38% versus 68% of Ohioans surveyed), affordable cost of living (34% versus 66% of Ohioans) and wide availability of housing (35% versus 61%).

Visitors did have a better impression of Ohio after seeing an ad and taking a trip to the state, according to the research. Those who did both were twice as likely to think of the state as a good place to live and start a career.

"That is why we have really doubled down on not only promoting the state as a great place to visit, but also a great place to live," Mihalik said.

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio .

Get more political analysis by listening to the Ohio Politics Explained podcast

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'ohio, the heart of it all': new welcome signs installed along ohio state border.

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A new slogan is now welcoming drivers into the Buckeye State.

Those entering Ohio will be welcomed to "The Heart of it All" as part of a new campaign, announced earlier this year , in a reintroduction of a familiar tagline.

The new signs were installed along the state border on Tuesday morning, reading "Welcome to Ohio, The Heart of it All."

Officials said the goal is to have these signs installed by December.

ODOT says 36 new signs were made by the Ohio Department of Transportation Sign Shop in Columbus.

The total cost of the new signage is $59,990.12, per transportation officials.

The tagline was Ohio's tourism slogan from 1984 until 2001. Ohio recorded 233 million visits last year, with visitors spending $53 billion.

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DeWine unveils new, re-imaged state slogan ‘The Heart of it All’

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

The state of Ohio is returning to a popular slogan to help promote the state and all that it has to offer.

Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced the state will resume the “Ohio, The Heart of it all” slogan to promote Ohio as a great place to live, work and play.

The reimagined slogan was unveiled while celebrating Ohio Tourism Day in Cleveland Wednesday morning.

>> I-TEAM: Comparing options for vacation stays

The slogan was originally used between 1984 and 2011.

“Our state is thriving, and we want the world to know that Ohio is the heart of technology, the heart of opportunity, the heart of adventure, and the heart of the family. This is a brand for all of Ohio, uniting everything we love about our great state under one powerful phrase,” said DeWine.

In 2022, Ohio’s tourism industry captured a record $53 billion in visitor spending and welcomed 223 million visitors from Ohio and other states.

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Ohio goes retro, relaunching ‘The heart of it all’ marketing campaign

by: Sarah Szilagy

Posted: May 10, 2023 / 11:02 AM EDT

Updated: May 10, 2023 / 12:54 PM EDT

CLEVELAND (WCMH) – America’s heart-shaped state is going back to its roots with its marketing campaign.

Ohio is relaunching the slogan of decades past: “Ohio: The heart of it all,” Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled at Cleveland’s Karamu House Theatre Wednesday morning. Replacing the tourism-focused slogan of “Ohio: Find it here,” DeWine said the retro phase better represents the state’s position as a center of technology, education, agriculture and family.

“What we’re promoting is more than just a travel destination,” DeWine said. “We are promoting all of our great state holistically, not just tourism. But we want people to come to Ohio, we want people to explore Ohio, we want people to love our great state as much as we do.”

Ohio was the “heart of it all” for nearly two decades, from 1984 until the slogan “Ohio. So much to discover” was established in 2001. In 2016, the state adopted the “Find it here” slogan, emphasizing the tourism industry.

With 75 state parks (and another one on the way), dozens of public and private universities and Intel and other technology giants staking their claim in the Buckeye state, DeWine said the “flexible, versatile” slogan represents how Ohio is a “great place to live, a great place to work, a great place to raise a family.”

“We believe it’s time for a creative, unifying brand that positions Ohio for today,” DeWine said. “Our new brand is about family, is about friends, is about connections. This brand resonates with Ohioans because it speaks to what all Ohio really is about.”

The slogan reveal coincides with the launch of a broader marketing campaign – a new commercial will air Wednesday with photos and videos representing the state’s focus on technology, education and family. Ohio also commissioned a new anthem, “Must Be the Love,” written and performed by Akron soul band Wesley Bright & the Honeytones.

Ohio tourism raked in $53 billion in 2022 and 233 million visitors, both record highs, DeWine said at the press conference. He said he expects the state to break that record in 2023.

“Ohio truly has a great quality of life, and we improve the quality of life for people around the world,” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said.

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"Find it here" slogan for Ohio tourism misses the mark: Phillip Morris

• Updated: Nov. 18, 2015, 10:57 a.m. |
• Published: Nov. 18, 2015, 9:57 a.m.

TourismOhio's new logo

• Phillip Morris, The Plain Dealer

Virginia Is For Lovers.

As a slogan, it's a keeper. Since 1969, the Commonwealth of Virginia has branded itself as the official haven for romance. I have no idea why. Still, Virginians must be proud to know that their state has never felt the need to seek a new branding mantra.

Sadly, we can't say that about Ohio. We are the state that can't quite get it right. Slogans seem to matter in the pursuit of  tourism dollars, though, so we keep trying.

Back in 1984, we were "The heart of it all." That sounded reasonable. Ohio is vaguely heart-shaped.

In the early 2000s, we switched to "Ohio, so much to discover." That sounded kind of OK, too. We're a big place, with amazing things to see. You could spend your whole summer just exploring the parks around Cleveland.

But Plain Dealer travel editor Susan Glaser recently reported that in 2016, we're going to try again. The new slogan is (I hope you are seated): Find it here.

That  three-word pitch will appear below a logo featuring an outline of the state containing the word Ohio. Although, if you view it from a certain perspective, it also looks like the word "hi," with Mr. Potato Head ears on either side.

The new logo will soon become the crux of a $6 million television, billboard and Internet campaign designed to entice both in-state and out-of-state visitors to explore Ohio. Or, as the official motto might say, to have them find stuff here.

I am not an expert on the business of tourism. I grew up in Ohio. Perhaps I'm not the target audience for these ads. But I wonder whether "Find it here" could inspire anyone to cross the street, much less explore the vastness of the Buckeye State.

I hope the campaign will have a breathtaking video, because out of context, the slogan doesn't sound like an invitation to explore Ohio's hidden treasures. It sounds like a suggestion to toss the sofa cushions, looking for loose change.

The new slogan also may be a little bit too easy to mock. Everyone's family has pet sayings about finding lost objects. It's a short trip from our new slogan to:

"Ohio: Where did you see it last?"

Or, "Ohio: Did you look under the refrigerator?"

Or, "Ohio: It's always the last place you look."

I'm not mocking the slogan, myself. I'm just showing how it could be done. See how easy that was?

People who are experts in tourism disagree with me. Mary Cusick, director of TourismOhio, calls the new branding mantra a big win that can be used to promote the state for years. She told Glaser the expression will market Ohio as geographically diverse while tapping into intangible emotions that are important to travelers.

"It's not about seeing the B-29 Superfortress at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force," one prototype ad says. "It's about tears in your grandfather's eyes as he relives his flying missions during World War II."

"We want to connect those positive emotions to Ohio," Cusick said.

I hope she's right.

No one said branding a state is easy. But we seem to be changing our branding as often as the Cleveland Browns change owners. It would be wonderful if we could just find a good one, and stick with it.

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Why Do We Care So Much About Our Tourism Slogans?

A nother day, another tourism slogan. In late June, the Department of Tourism unveiled a brand new battlecry for the country’s perpetual campaign to lure in more visitors to spend their money here. As always, instant marketing, branding, and tourism "professionals"—as well as casual commentators—all rose out of the woodwork that is the internet to have their say. 

There are those who love the simplicity of "Love the Philippines"—a direct, no-nonsense expression of devotion for a country that has so much to offer. But there are the critics turned off by the seemingly blunt, desperate plea to solicit affection. A simple punctuation mark, some have argued, would’ve vastly improved the copy, and it hasn’t helped the cause of the DOT that certain images from the promotional video that was launched alongside the new slogan were apparently—gasp!—shot in countries that were certainly not here in the Philippines.

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There were other issues attached to the new slogan: a supposedly inflated budget, questionable visuals used in the logo, and why there was a need to change the slogan in the first place from one that was (relatively) popular and worked quite well. From the perspective of a cultural spectator, it seemed about right. It wouldn’t be a tourism slogan launch without a little (or a lot of) controversy.

This begs the question: why exactly are many of us so invested each time the powers-that-be take it upon themselves to scrap the previous campaign, start fresh, and launch a brand-new tourism rallying cry? Why are these branding and advertising refreshes such a big deal?

There’s the obvious reason, of course, which is that most Filipinos feel directly impacted by the campaign by virtue of their being Filipino. A new slogan reflects not just on the government and people working in the tourism industry—hotel and restaurant staff, airlines and tour operators, resort staff and guides—but all of us with friends and loved ones abroad, and even ourselves making plans to discover more of our homeland. The slogan amplifies how we communicate our love and fondness for our country and so we naturally have things to say, whether for or against, each time there’s a slogan reboot.

But I suspect it’s something more. The DOT may claim otherwise, but a new tourism slogan and campaign is a tacit admission that the old one isn’t working, or, at the very least, that it needs an update. Tens of millions of pesos are poured onto multi-media, multi-year campaigns like this, so of course the government would like to ensure that it goes beyond mere awareness into tangible returns. And for a country like the Philippines—a perceived tourism powerhouse based on numerous international awards and citations, not to mention a general reputation as a place blessed with abundant natural resources and stunning geography—the question is why that doesn’t exactly translate into concrete numbers. 

In ASEAN, Thailand is the runaway winner, recording nearly 40 million (39.8 million) tourist arrivals in 2019. Malaysia came in second with 20.1 million, followed by Vietnam with 18 million. Tiny Singapore managed 15.9 million, with Indonesia rounding out the Top 5 with 13.6 million.

The Philippines came in sixth with about half of Indonesia’s numbers: about 8.2 million tourists. Cambodia (6.7 million), Myanmar (4.3 million), Laos (3.4 million), and Brunei Darussalam (213,000) follow. 

The pandemic, of course, upended global travel, but 2022 marked a vast improvement in tourism arrivals compared to the two previous years. Thailand still led with 11.2 million inbound tourists, Malaysia with about 10 million, Singapore with 6.3 million, Indonesia with 5.5 million, and the Philippines at two million.

One can’t help but wonder, then, that for all its breathtaking natural beauty—our pristine beaches, our mountain hideways, our colorful festivals, our mouthwatering cuisine, and our much-vaunted Filipino hospitality— why the Philippines can’t seem to punch above its weight in terms of getting more tourists to come.

Could it be that so much attention and emphasis are heaped on these tourism slogan changes that we forget that there are numerous other factors to consider if we want to increase tourist arrivals to our shores? Tens of millions of pesos are spent on generating ideas to get people to come; how much have we spent on improving the overall experience of our guests once they get here?

This isn’t a dig at the DOT and the other government agencies who we’re sure are working tirelessly to elevate the entire tourism industry. And people have every right to criticize and complain when public funds are used on a campaign that ends up not just being substandard but downright sloppy. But there are many other factors beyond slogans and marketing campaigns that contribute to tourism arrivals that we can work on and maybe we should start turning our attention on those, like further developing some of the country’s culturally important sights and attractions, enhancing tourism support infrastructure and accessibility, strengthening the country’s economy, and many others.

The way people are seemingly obsessed with tourism slogan changes, you’d think they actually believe they’re wholly and exclusively responsible for drawing visitors in. Just over the last 20 or so years, we’ve had no less than seven tourism slogans, almost all of which were cooked up by a new administration, no doubt eager to show off what it can do. We’re no tourism or marketing professional, but we’ve always believed that a message of simplicity and consistency would trump one of novelty any day.

Perhaps it’s time our tourism leaders got to work crafting a creative, coherent slogan—one that communicates how much we are all proud of where we are and what we have—sell the hell out of it to us and to the rest of the world, and work on all of the other things that would make us truly, finally love the Philippines the way she deserves to be loved.