WE are admittedly making baby steps into the new normal, and that include the whole effort of breathing life back to Cebu tourism. But are we doing it the right way?
The recent Bantayan Island Airport inauguration, which also officially launched the revitalization of the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo, this time branded as “SMB (Santa Fe-Madridejos-Bantayan) Escapade,” gets a backlash after photographs of the event’s Madridejos leg showed a large crowd and an apparent breakdown of some health protocols.
Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año assured there will be an investigation into the matter. No less than Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque was there, and defended himself by saying he was only invited to the event and, in fact, persistently reminded those present to observe physical distancing. Officials, including Madridejos Mayor Salvador dela Fuente, said they didn’t expect a crowd that big. Maybe he should just stop pulling our leg. Nothing as festive as that could anywhere be as isolated as the moon. That crowd wasn’t an accident, and anyone rooted in the culture knows what draws people in.
The better intentions of what was supposedly a marketing ploy in the service of Cebu tourism was glossed over by the noise it had caused. It wasn’t a cheap one. The supposed rites and performances to push the destination came with public funds.
In case our officials’ advisers are not getting it right, the pandemic has also changed how products are sold these days.
McDonald’s Brazil’s creative campaign, for instance, just did a well-informed, sensitive marketing decision of revising the brand logo into distanced arches. It was well received, and customer reviews were unanimous in saying here was one brand that cared for their safety.
Again, in case our leaders have missed it, many of the international brands these days have emphasized on “safety,” most often advertising copy has been tagging the word “safe” into their brands. While still under the pandemic and even in the years to come after this trauma, health and safety will now be key factors in brand experience. That is what the public expects.
So it is nothing but stubborn to insist in the old ways of pushing for tourism without making full emphasis on health protocols under the Covid-19 era. The viral “SMB” escapade photographs, we are afraid, apparently comes out as an undoing of the whole tourism promotion objective. Any demonstration of recklessness in matters of health and safety turns off a public that demands just exactly those.