MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Tourism will launch this January a new brand campaign expected to raise Philippine tourism output to new heights.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said the new Philippine brand produced by world-renowned Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO) will touch people’s heart and mind.

A new short and catchy slogan will replace the DOT’s “Wow Philippines” catchphrase.

Jimenez said Philippine tourism performed better than expected in 2011 despite the devastating typhoons, lingering effects of the hostage-taking of Hong Kong tourists, and warnings of different embassies saying the country was not a safe place to visit.

Despite all these, Jimenez said tourist arrival to the Philippines from January to October increased by 11.96 percent or 3,185,866 compared to the 2,845,573 during the same period in 2010.

Based on the DOT records, July produced the biggest arrivals with 360,784 while February posted the highest tourism growth at 18.52 percent or 318,902.

The East Asian region recorded 1,511,389 visitors, which is higher over the 2010 volume of 1,283,965 arrivals with China, South Korea, and Japan accounting for 1,511,389 arrivals.

The North American region sent over 604,226 this year compared to the 270,409 of 2010.

Jimenez also said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region is the third biggest contributor producing 270,409 arrivals, accounting for 8.49 percent of the total inbound traffic.

Arrivals from the Asean region grew by 14.85 percent against the arrivals of 156,617 in 2010.

The fourth biggest source by region was Australasia and Pacific with 179,874 arrivals for a share of 5.65 percent.

Arrivals from Northern Europe with an aggregate of 129,346 (4.6 percent) comprised the fifth biggest contributor of arrivals versus the 117,182 output of 2010.

The top 12 countries include South Korea, USA, Japan, China, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Germany.

Jimenez also expressed optimism for tourism in 2012. He mentioned Boracay, Puerto Princesa, Baguio, and the many beautiful beaches in the Philippines as attraction to local and foreign travelers.

“We expect to bring in 3.2 million tourists, and hopefully more because of the global Asian Development Bank Conference here, which could pull in more than 4,000 delegates in April,” Jimenez said.