So, OK let Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez and his adherents have their day. Let them stand pat on their assertion that their latest brainstorm “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” will carry us through to reach that much coveted goal of at least  six million (or is it 10 million as one super advocate boasted before some newsmen lately?) tourists on or before the end of P. Noy’s term.

For DoT’s sake, let us also do away with that plagiarism issue although Jimenez can actually turn this around and say it’s actually more fun having a tan in the Philippines than in Switzerland where even if you stay naked for the whole day by the huge stones at the Geneva lakeshore on a hot summer day, you will not have the same tan as in Boracay or in Pagudpud up north or even Guian in Eastern Samar where you can have fresh seafood to boot.

Let us just say that this branding operation beloved of Jimenez and his  advertising groupie which, if reports are to be believed, cost us taxpayers no less than P5 million right off as fee to the winning bidder, BBDO Guerrero, will contribute to 25 percent (that’s the awareness part, di ba?) to the entire plan of bringing in the tourists, where will the 75 percent come from to make this dream come true?

From ensuring that the products themselves, our country and our people, are as properly and thoroughly primed for the influx, diba? So, our question to Jimenez and company, and I hope they answer this as truthfully as they can, is: What preparations have you made, in the short-, medium-, and long-term to ensure that the branded product we are promoting stands up to the minutest scrutiny?

Please let us know so we can at least contribute to the effort. After all, as Jimenez correctly stated, in the final analysis, it is us, Filipinos, who will make or unmake this ambitious plan. Nobody else.

Let’s start with the infrastructure, both hard and soft. Is there any plan to upgrade our airports, ports, roads, bridges, and other facilities, especially those we always advertise as the “must-see” places in the country? For example, how has the “clean- up” and upgrading of the Intramuros/Roxas Blvd/Luneta and the “Old Manila” loop, which is usually the route attached to a first time tourist staying in Manila for one or two days only? Do we have enough rides (kalesas, etc.) to bring the tourists around and, of course, guides to make their day more fun?

I am told that Fort Santiago is in such disrepair the guides discourage tourists to go there. Is this true?

I am also told that one of the guides, a certain Celdran, has taken such an anti-Christian, anti-Catholic bent he has the propensity to disparage and insult the church and its history as he goes his “merry” way, showing tourists around the “Old Manila/Intramuros” area. Is this also true?         Because if both advisories are true, then Jimenez’ “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign will already falter right in front of his face and office. And we are just starting here!!!

What about the other places of interest as has been advertised for ages in our tourist brochures. Let us say the storied churches, lakes, and rivers of Laguna, for example. What has the DoT and the other agencies done to ensure that the roads leading to these places are in order, the signs are in place, and the transport vehicles with their guides, of course, are ever  ready to make the trip (this is usually for the day unless one decides to spend the night at the Hidden Valley in Alaminos) such fun the tourists will talk about it for weeks on end, thus bringing more repeat business for our kababayans out there.

Is UP Los Banos and Bay, for example, which host the university town and IRRI as well as nestled on the slopes of Mt. Makiling, primed up to host hundreds of thousands of tourists who maybe encouraged to make that day trip?

What about Calamba where the Rizal Shrine is located? The tourists may want to take a glimpse of how our national hero lived and how was life in those days? Do we have enough men, materials, sights, and other collateral attractions to ensure that the tourists will really have more fun?

We can go on and on enumerating the “must-see” places for Jimenez and company just to remind them that while branding is important to the success of an honest-to-goodness tourism plan, in the end it is the people and the place(s) – the product, as the good secretary himself admitted – which will make the tourists come.

Are we as prepared as, say Malaysia with 22 million tourists or Singapore with 15 million tourists or Thailand with 25 million tourists, to welcome the millions who will now surely come to test whether they will really have more fun in PH?  Are we?