FORT MAGSAYSAY, Palayan City – The internationally
acclaimed “Hot Air Balloon Festival,” which is traditionally being held in
Pampanga may be moved outside of that
province and transferred to this sprawling military camp.
This was the
assessment of a top official of the Department of Tourism in Central Luzon who
said that holding the festival requires vast tracts of lands.
DOT
Region 3 Ronaldo Tiotuico said Fort
Magsaysay, with 44,000 hectares of available lands, can accommodate an event as
huge as the “Hot air Balloon.”
He said,
however, that the event may not be moved to Aurora in eastern Central Luzon
which, although a fast-emerging tourist destination, may not have available
space.
“When we
talk of Aurora, I think it’s a no,” Tiotuico said, adding there is no firm
proposal on the ground to transfer the event outside of Pampanga.
The
possibility of transferring the site of the balloon fest outside of the
province was raised after the event was moved to Lupao, Pampanga from its
traditional site at the Clark Freeport Zone during its holding last April
10-13.
The new site
in Barangay Prado Siongco, Lubao is located some 33 kilometers outside of Clark
to Brgy. Prado Siongco, Lubao Pampanga. The reason for the tranfer was due to aviation
traffic where 10 international and domestic airlines now operate and fly in and
out of Clark from various destinations.
The hot air
balloon event, dubbed “Philippine International Balloon Festival (PIBF) 2014,”
was organized by Pilipinas International Balloon Festival, Inc.
Tiotuico
admitted that moving the event to Fort Magsaysay would be treading uncharted
territory . He said they previously tried to look for Zambales but it proved
not an ideal location, unlike Clark where there are no obstructions.
He said
organizers, in considering a transfer, might look at spectator traffic. “The
usual apprehension is that it might draw only few spectators,” he said, adding
that the event, spanning at least three days, usually draws 100,000 spectators,
80 percent of whom come from Metro Manila.
Tiotuico said air balloon fests are popular in Japan, Albuquerque in New Mexico, Putrajaya and Arizona. – Manny Galvez
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