Philippine Balloon Festival 2014 to take off in April amid much criticism

The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) and organizers of the Philippine International Friendship Balloon Festival 2014 have decided to levy an entrance fee of P100 as they are

facing a budget crunch before staging the festival.

On the VisitMyPhilippines website it was revealed in a press statement that spectators would not pay an entrance fee and that only a P50 parking fee for cars and P100 for buses would be collected during the event from April 10 to 13 by the orders of the DOT

DOT Central Luzon director has stated that the fee is being exerted due to limited funds. The hot air balloon festival will organize the festival after 16 years. The aerial event was organized 1994 to 1998.

From 1999 the festival was interrupted due to insufficient funds and interruption of flight in the international airport of Philippines. The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) Foundation, in 2000, organized the annual crowd-drawing event. It handled the festival until 2013.Entrance fee of P250 per person was charged during the PIHABF here last year.

The foundation cancelled the festival in the last minute due to insufficient time and planning and it was from here that Tiotuico, with the approval of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., decided to organize another version of the festival in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp., Clark International Airport Corp. and the Philippine Air Force.

15 to 20 hot air balloonists from different countries are expected to join the festival. There is concern about the safety of the participants by the PIHABF Foundation as the time to learn the processes and safety requirements is too short.

Members of the foundation said summer is not the ideal time to hold a hot air balloon festival. They said all hot air balloon fiestas in the past, since 1994, were held during the cold months, usually February, when the surrounding air is cool.

But Tiotuico said warmer temperatures in April pose no problem for hot air balloons. The average daytime temperature difference between the months of February and April is only 2 to 3 degrees Celsius. Ballooning is done early morning and late afternoon when the temperature is more comfortable.