The regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT 11) gave Davao media a glimpse of the new tourism branding of the Davao Region, Davao: Diversity is our Beauty, focusing on the strength of Davao City and each of the five provinces of the region.
DOT regional director Tanya Rabat-Tan told media on Tuesday that the new branding focuses on the strengths of Davao City as a fun place to be in, Davao Oriental as an adventure thrill seeking activities, Davao de Oro as a place to reset and very well known for its wellness destinations, Davao del Norte as eco-tourism hub, Davao del Sur as a food and coffee haven and Davao Occidental as nature meets culture destination.
“Our beauty is in our diversity and our diversity goes beyond the different landscapes in our region. It is seen in our rich heritage, our innovations, our nature’s harvest. There is diversity in our language, industries, entertainment, and adventures. We are five provinces and one city that would seem to have too many different things going on at once and yet in fact here lies our most unique quality. Our new identity seeks to embody how our individual unique qualities stand vibrant on their own and when peace together harmonized into beautiful tapestries of colors and patterns. It is our hope that the world can see us more deeply know us more deeply and love us more deeply,” Tan said during P.E.P Talks media forum at SM Lanang Premier on Tuesday.
Tan said the branding was a result of thorough consultation and discussion with 40 participants from various sectors in the region including the local government units (LGUs), national government agencies, and private sector.
“The challenge is how do you tell a unified story with five provinces and one city each unique in their own right and richly diverse and yet deeply intertwined with each other. That is how we are. Going back, how do you tell a unified story that would represent the whole region. We focus on the strengths of each of this provinces,” she said.
She said that new branding aims to show to the world that Davao Region has so much to offer aside from the popular icons, the durian; the pomelo, and the Philippine Eagle.
“After all the series of consultation we found out that we are more than just the islands and the highlands because we did a deep dive and finding out all the different sites. Each province is very unique in its own self and there is so many offerings. So now Davao tells an incredible story of diversity,” she said.
Davao: Diversity in Beauty is also the first official tagline of DOT 11.
In 2017, the tourism tagline, although not official, “From islands to highlands” was used to promote the region’s topography, considered to be the largest city in the world, covering an area of 244,000 hectares.
The tagline showcased both the mountain side and the shores of the region such as experiencing the cool mountain breeze at Eden Nature Park and Resort in a day and lounging under the the sun on the beaches of Samal Island.
“We are very proud of this tagline. What do people know about Davao? We say it is the Philippine Eagle, is it the beaches, or the durian. We are really very proud of all of these but we know kita mga taga Davao we do know that there is more to Davao than what is commonly known. We know that there is so much more we can offer and we want to welcome the world to discover our true beauty,” Tan said.
