PPUR Officially Included in the New 7 Wonders of Nature

New7Wonders of Nature Confirmed PPUR

The Puerto Prinsesa's 17 km underground river is now officially one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature as confirmed by its President Bernard Weber. The certificate was presented to Puerto Prinsesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn in a ceremony held in Heritage Hotel, Pasay City.

The Philippines' inclusion to the New7Wonders of Nature wasn't easy. The search started in 2007 with 440 entries from 220 countries around the world. It was trimmed down to top 77 and then the PPUR came in strong as one of the 28 finalists.

The intensified promotional campaign of the government helped the PPUR beat other contenders. Based on the final results, the Puerto Prinsesa Underground River received a total global votes of 20 million. "Fans of PPUR all over the world responded to his call for action by voting in record numbers and today’s confirmation is the well-earned reward for this extraordinary display of enthusiasm," Weber told the media in explaining the role of President Aquino in the promotion of the PPUR. 

The Jeju Island in South Korea was also confirmed. Other finalists that awaits confirmation are Amazon River in South America, Halong Bay in Vietnam, Iguazu Falls in South America, Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa and the Komodo National Park in Indonesia

The Puerto Prinsesa Underground River is considered as the longest navigable underground river in the world. It was also named as one of the World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

Mayor Hagedorn and the Department of Tourism is optimistic that the inclusion of the PPUR in the New 7 Wonders of Nature will bring more tourists in the Philippines, both local and foreign. They are expecting that the 2B revenue last year will double with the influx of tourists in the underground river which is truly a great tourist destination.

Tourism Department Launched It's More Fun in the Philippines Campaign

The Department of Tourism will be launching a massive campaign to attract more tourists in the Philippines this year. The campaign dubbed as "It's More Fun in the Philippines" draws major support from the various stakeholders in the tourism industry as well as celebrities and media personalities.

Below are the slogans that will be used in international and local campaigns.


It's More Fun in the Philippines




#1 For Fun Philippines

The tourism department is expecting at least 4 million foreign tourists this year and 10 million in 2016. This will be achieved by marketing the Philippines as a more fun place to visit. Currently the country is still lagging behind its neighbors in South East Asia when it comes to the influx of foreign tourists. Proper marketing of the tourism sector has been the problem of our country. Last year, the "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" campaign was discarded because of controversies.

According to Secretary Jimenez, the new campaign is meant to become a voice for Philippine tourism and this would simply answer the basic question why tourists should come here and that is because it's more fun in the Philippines. "And the truth is that the Philippines is more than a bunch of islands and old churches, it's the fun Filipino people that complete the Philippine tourism experience, it's the people that differentiate us from other destinations," Jimenez added.

Recently, the "It's More Fun in the Philippines" slogan became a hit in social media particularly in Twitter where millions of Filipinos are users. This development was welcomed by the tourism department because every citizen will now be a part of the campaign.

The agency will also launch this first quarter more promotional activities to boost the campaign "It's more fun in the Philippines and #1 for Fun Phillipines."