TAIWAN is looking to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Philippines, in a bid to promote Southeast Asia as a tourist destination for hot-air balloon enthusiasts.
Participating in the third installment of the annual Lubao International Balloon Festival in Pampanga, Taitung County Government Tourism Department Director General Guo-Jeng Wang said there is a strong tourism potential in the staging of hot-air balloon festivals.
“It is growing more popular and is attracting more tourists,” Wang said.
Taitung County has its own annual hot-air balloon festival every July and lasts for 38 days, the longest of its kind in the region.
Wang said that in their hot-air balloon festival last year, more than 780,000 tourists came, with some of them coming from Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Japan.
Taitung County also makes available all its nine hot air balloons daily, which take tourists to a 100-kilometer flight throughout its scenic landscapes.
Taitung County has eight licensed hot-air balloon pilots, who all had their training in the United States.
Chiu Sheng Fu, the first Aboriginal pilot from Taiwan, said the US holds the biggest hot-air balloon festival in the world in Albuquerque, with more than 600 hot-air balloons participating.
Chiu has flown Taiwanese hot-air balloons in international festivals, including those in the US, Japan, Thailand, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, Malaysia, Germany, Belgium and now here in the Philippines.
According to Wang, they are looking for alliances with the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia, which all have their own annual hot air-balloon festivals.
Wang said that while they have the longest hot-air balloon festival, the Philippines has the distinction of having the biggest participation among all the countries in the region holding such kind of festival.
For the Lubao International Balloon Festival, Taitung County brought two hot-air balloons, including its Kids Hooray, the first legally registered Taiwan balloon.
Kids Hooray was designed by five elementary-school students in the East Riff Valley of Taitung County, and serves as its goodwill ambassador when participating in international events.
Taitung County participates in at least three international hot-air balloon festivals annually.
The Lubao International Balloon Festival, which ends today, is organized by Pilipinas International Balloon Festival Inc., in cooperation with the Arts, Culture and Tourism Office of Pampanga, and with support from Pampanga’s provincial government.