After two years of lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Tourism loosened travel restrictions in the country and permitted fully vaccinated individuals to travel nationwide.

With this, COMS360 launched its newest campaign, “BALIKBAYAN: Bumalik sa Bayan, Ibalik sa Bayan.” The campaign aimed to help bring back Filipinos to local destinations and help businesses in the hospitality industry.

Through the “BALIKBAYAN: Bumalik sa Bayan, Ibalik sa Bayan” campaign, Filipinos who traveled in the last few months are encouraged to post their best travel photos and, at the same time, mention the local businesses that made their travel experience exciting. This will help local establishments and destinations get additional promotions from their Filipino customers.

“BALIKBAYAN” is an online contest where the Filipino tourists with the most number of post engagements wins a cash prize.

The campaign’s mechanics are simple. COMS360 will post the campaign poster on its flagship Facebook social media page, PAGEONE.ph. People will be asked to share snaps of the most exciting and memorable photos from their local travels.

Along with the images are their insights regarding their tours and how they would rate their experiences. They are also encouraged to mention all the accommodations that they have availed themselves of during the trip, including restaurants, travel guides, and even local rental vans or tricycles.

COMS360’s campaign will be a way to expand the perspective of tourists to different local attractions, as they can discover more through the experiences shared by people in the campaign. Moreover, they will be reassured that the services will meet their expectations because someone has already encountered and recommended them.

This campaign has two main goals: (1) to encourage people to travel or discover the Philippines again, and (2) to help travelers easily connect with different hospitality providers for their planned trips.

Tourism in the country is not the only factor that the campaign aims to improve but also aims to make way for businesses, especially those who promote local products, to be back in operation as tourists avail their goods after discovering their outstanding services.