The Department of Tourism (DOT) has named P-pop sensation BINI as its newest tourism ambassadors, tapping the record-breaking girl group to help showcase the Philippines’ vibrant culture, diverse destinations, and world-class hospitality to local and international audiences.
The announcement also came after the launch of the new domestic tourism campaign Discover More to Love which offers more than a hundred thousand travel deals from hotels, tour operators, and airline partners to encourage more Filipinos to explore destinations across the Philippines and strengthen the country’s domestic tourism.
On Friday (July 3), the global star eight-member Pinoy Pop (P-Pop) girl group paid a courtesy visit to Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay at the DOT Central Office in Makati City.
The tourism chief underscored the move as part of the Department’s ongoing efforts to engage globally recognized Filipino talent in promoting Philippine tourism. This is also in response to the growing public clamor to engage them as part of the tourism industry following their massive success.
“Sometimes, the young people can actually direct a whole generation, a whole government or bureaucracy to go a certain direction, which will connect with a larger population and we made the right choice. A fresh takeaway from this first meeting is each girl actually represents a province or a town. They’re very knowledgeable about what is a charming feature of their town. I thought that the input is very refreshing, and each girl member has that to bring to tourism,” the tourism chief said in an interview.
According to Secretary Mathay, the initiative is an investment in the ‘soft power’ of pop culture and is part of the DOT’s broader strategy to harness the reach and influence of internationally recognized Filipino artists to advance tourism promotion.
“We want a long-term relationship, ayaw namin ng isa lang. Kasi ayu’n ang may impact kung mahaba. It shows a serious, sustainable, long-term partnership, so we’re in with them for the long haul. So that’s what we have in mind, and hopefully the group also has the same in mind,” Secretary Angara-Mathay added.
As part of the future partnership, the DOT will support the BINI by giving them more platforms to feature diverse Philippine tourism offerings.
“If they’re into cooking, they’re into sports, they’re into thinking about going back to their provinces and their communities, we’ll support that, even if they go abroad, we’ll support that,” she enthused.
Star Magic head Laurenti M. Dyogi, for its part, lauded the government initiative to promote not only the Original Pilipino Music (OPM) but also the Filipino talent and culture.
“We have not finalized anything, but there are a lot of possibilities that we’re looking at that wouldn’t have been possible if DOT [Ren and the Secretary] has not initiated, reaching out and seeing a vision of a partnership with BINI and all the others that bring Filipino pride. So, this is a start of hopefully a long-lasting partnership in helping promote Philippine tourism,” he said.
Recently, the Senate of the Philippines and the House of Representatives of the Philippines also recognized BINI through a formal resolution honoring their global achievements and growing influence in promoting Filipino talent on the world stage.
Fresh off their historic milestone as the first-ever all-Filipino group to perform at Coachella in April, BINI continues to champion local tourism.
In an interview, BINI members shared their favorite Philippine destinations that they want to explore, offering fans a perfect roadmap for exploring the archipelago. Batanes was chosen by Aiah, Maloi, and Colet; Palawan by Sheena; Bukidnon by Gwen; Romblon by Mikha; Siargao by Jhoanna; and Boracay by Stacey.
