The Philippines’ tourism chief has drawn criticism after appearing on the cover of a lifestyle magazine intended to promote the country’s destinations, reviving complaints that the department’s messaging has become overly focused on its leader at a time when visitor numbers are slipping.
Christina Frasco, secretary of the Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DOT), appeared on the cover of the December issue of Philippine Topics, pictured against a beach backdrop and alongside a story on the Philippines’ pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka that claimed interest in travel to the country had “skyrocketed”.
The cover prompted online backlash from content creators and tourism observers, some of whom said it reinforced what they saw as a pattern of self-promotion by Frasco that distracted from the harder work of marketing destinations and addressing deeper problems in the tourism sector.
The controversy was amplified by a now-deleted Facebook post from photographer Max Abasolo, who said his team had previously been contracted by the tourism department to shoot extensive photo and video material across the country.
“You made us shoot almost 320 tourist spots from Region 1 to Region 13. 236,000 photos, 6,500 video materials, and this is the one you would choose, DOT?” he wrote in December, referring to Frasco’s image.
The DOT rejected the insinuation, saying it had not commissioned the magazine feature and had not used public funds or resources for the secretary’s promotion.
“The content, including the selection of images and text, was produced entirely at the magazine’s editorial discretion. The DOT did not provide any photographs, guidance, or funding for the feature,” it said in a statement released on December 31, adding that Philippine Topics had independently covered activities related to Expo 2025 Osaka.
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