Clark hot air balloon fest vanishes into thin air

CLARK FREEPORT—This former United States air force base will not host the annual hot air balloon festival this year, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Hosting the crowd-drawing event would be impractical because of hectic activities at the airport, mainly cargo, military and budget passenger flights at the Clark International Airport, Ronaldo Tiotuico, DOT Central Luzon director, said on Tuesday.

He said the agency would need to look for a new site for the festival, which the DOT plans to hold from April 10-13.

“It was unfortunate that the organizers had to cancel the annual event which the DOT started in 1994. We tried to take over this year, but it looks like increasing aviation-related activity at the Clark airport will require some adjustments in terms of location,” Tiotuico told the Inquirer.

“A private company has decided to try doing it outside Clark or at least some 33 kilometers away from the airport,” he said, adding that the new site cannot be divulged in the meantime.

Last year, the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) Foundation, which mounted the festival from 2000 to 2013, announced the cancellation of the event for 2014, citing insufficient time to plan and prepare for it.

The decision prompted Tiotuico to organize his own version, dubbed Philippine International Friendship Balloon Festival 2014, with the backing of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.

The DOT’s new task, however, has had its ups and downs.

The DOT decision to transfer the venue may be due to the upcoming Balikatan 2014 military exercises. Jun Malig, Inquirer Central Luzon