The new slogan of the Department of Tourism of Philippines “It’s More Fun In The Philippines” has gone viral. The slogan was developed to attract tourists from around the world and has already circulated in social networks such as facebook, twitter, and tumblr. It aims to convince tourists why they would rather choose Philippines as their travel destination and why it’s more fun to do things in the country. People’s imagination can go beyond for what the slogan’s real objective is, which results to humorous parodies. Tourists and locals alike contribute to the so called trend. Examples are as shown below. As a Filipino myself, I know a lot of things that are (or more) fun in the Philippines. But after collecting opinions and research, I have listed my 10 reasons why it is more fun in the Philippines.
5. Hospitality – Now, nothing comes close to a Filipino way of welcoming their guests. Filipinos love spoiling their guests with food and comfort. My grandmother for example, keeps all the best plates, towels, bed sheets, and other stuff that a guest might use, to a storage room and only use them whenever there’s a guest. This is what my mom usually complains about when they ere young because they get to use the old stuff. I also have a friend who is an Australian with a Filipino girlfriend. One time when he went to his girlfriend’s house for a visit, the family prepared a feast when it was only him who’s visiting. Filipinos would often insist you eat a lot. In a buffet lunch or dinner, they will ask you to go back to the buffet table and eat some more. My friend at that time just couldn’t insist the family’s warm welcome that he just ate and ate. Good thing though, he likes Filipino food.

1. Festivals – Philippines is home to hundreds of festivals. Tourists from around the world travel to witness some colourful and lively festivals in the Philippines such as the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City, and Masskara Festival in Bacolod City. Both of these festivals for example are one of the famous festivals in the Philippines. Both feature massive colourful street dances that are usually the highlight. Most festivals in the Philippines showcase traditional values and cultural activities during the day and by night time, hey become haven for younger generations as streets will be filled stages and sound systems that will surely lit the party mode for the youngsters. I have experience of going to a festival in one of the small towns in my province, Negros Occidentel, where I was invited by my friend. It was my first time there so I was being shy and just was just following my friend. What I found amusing is how we just enter from one house to another and eat what they serve. We basically just go to one house, chat with the host, socialize a bit, eat, then move to the next house. Different festivals have different ways of celebrating. And in Philippines, you surely will not ran out of things to do.
2. Beaches – being a tropical country, Philippines is the home of the world-famous beach, Boracay. A lot of tourists’ itineraries will include going to Boracay. If you google best beaches in the world, you will always find Boracay in lists from different traveling sites. And why not? Known for its powder-white sand, clear water, and surrounded with variety of restaurants, bars, spa, shops, and rides, you will love Bora (a short term for Boracay) as much as all other tourists who have been there, did. And Bora is just one of the beautiful beaches in Philippines. Seriously, what do you expect from a tropical country?
3. Street food – What is going to another country without trying their famous dishes? I can same some food that are usually tourists-favourites like Chicken/Pork Adobo (chicken or pork in soy-base sauce), Kare-Kare (beef stew in peanut sauce), and more. But those are too mainstream for me to even feature it here. What I would like you to know about are the street food. First of all, when you eat street food, it’s best if you eat it in the street, too (don’t buy it and take it to your hotel room). Usual favourite street food is barbecue which comes in different variety. You have you safe choices like chicken and pork. But for true Filipino street food experience, try the exotic ones like liver, intestine, heart, or gizzard barbecue. They may seem gross to most people, but there is a good reason why Filipinos love them – they’re delicious! And talking about exotic food, nothing comes more exotic the the famous balut. Balut is a fertilized duck embryo that is boiled and eaten in the shell. Most foreigners’ challenge often would be eating a balut. Seriously, eating a balut is probably the best thing you brag to your friends from your trip in Philippines.
4. Hand-made or native materials – shopping is fun in the Philippines knowing when you convert your dollars to pesos, you instantly become 10 times richer. This is because of the cheap prices in Philippines which will be explained further in no. 6. What is exciting in Philippines is shopping for native or hand-made materials like cheap rags, dining room decorations, native accessories, curtains made from sea shells, handbags, etc. There are so much more to choose from. Whenever you’re in the country, remember to ask your guide to show you the local market or native shop.