A Tourism campaign for the Philippines backfired after the creators of a video promoting the archipelago nation as a holiday destination said it had used stock shots from other countries. Advertising agency DDB Philippines apologised on Sunday for the “highly inappropriate” images, which included rice terraces in Indonesia and sand dunes in Brazil. The agency was behind the video for the government’s $900,000 “Love the Philippines” tourism campaign, which launched on 27 June. The tourism ministry said the previous day it was investigating allegations that DDB’s video included “non-original shots”, and the video was later removed from its Facebook page. Tourism is a key industry in the Philippines, which boasts pristine dive spots and white sand beaches, but arrivals lag those of its neighbours due to poor infrastructure and high costs. There were 2.7 million inbound tourists to the Philippines last year, down 68% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to data from the UN’s World Tourism Organisation. Questions emerged after popular Philippine blogger Sass Rogando Sasot posted on Facebook that several images in the …

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