New Philippine tourism slogan plagiarized from Switzerland?

New Philippine tourism slogan plagiarized from Switzerland?

The Philippines is highlighting the bright nature of Filipinos in a campaign to draw more tourists with a new slogan: "It's more fun in the Philippines."

Philippine tourism promotion efforts suffered another blow over claims its new slogan copied from an old Swiss one. The 1951 Swiss National Tourist Office ad proclaimed "It's more fun in Switzerland!"

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez and other officials swiftly rejected the new copycat allegations by tweeting “The line isn't a manufactured slogan. It's simply the truth about our country. Don't be swayed by people who are trying to punch holes in it."

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said that Switzerland used ‘its more fun--' in 1951. That’s 61 yrs ago. Even intellectual property rights expire after 50 yrs.

In November 2010, the Philippine government was forced to scrap a similar campaign that allegedly plagiarized a Polish campaign.

The Philippines boasts of beautiful beaches and diving, English-speaking people and cheap shopping. Despite many natural wonders and more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines has long lagged behind its Southeast Asian neighbors in attracting tourists.

Poor infrastructure, corruption and poverty are the some of the factors holding back the country's tourism industry. Visitors are also deterred by communist and Muslim insurgencies and bombings and kidnappings by al-Qaida-linked extremists in the south.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Monday January 09 2012, 2:08 AM EDT. Ref: Reuters. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0