SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga- The Department of Tourism (DOT) is adding one more item to its “national calendar of events” to guide sight-seeing tourists.
It is the annual Ibong Dayo (migrant birds) Festival of Balanga City in Bataan which established the festival only three years ago.
“The event has reached milestones in attendance and sustainability,” said DOT regional director Ronnie Tiotuico.
This year, the festival was held in the Balanga City Wetland and Nature Park (BCWNP) amid no less than 3,000 visitors, including foreigners from Malaysia and Indonesia.
Hectares of lands in the city play hosts to various species of wild bird escaping from the wintry weather in other countries. The birds have become a major attraction to local and foreign tourists, giving rise to the Ibong Dayo festival capitalizing on the presence of tourists boosting the local economy.
Balanga City Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III assured the DOT that the city government would continue to fully support the festival for sustainability, which is one requirement for the project’s inclusion in the department’s national calendar of events.
“This is a very good development coming from DOT. We now have a bigger chance of promoting our festival and attract more tourists,” said Garcia.
He said the third phase of the costal park BCWNP will be started next year to include the construction of a trail going to the mangrove area, a platform for staging events, and more facilities for bird watching.
“Every week, there are hundreds of students from Manila and Central Luzon coming here as part of their Lakbay Kalikasan. Developments will be made to make sure tourism in Balanga will maintain an upward trend,” said Garcia.
Tiotuico said the DOT will provide financial and technical assistance to the city government for the promotion of the festival, from crafting flyers to advertisements in national papers.
“This Ibong Dayo is a big contribution to achieve our target of 4.5 million foreign tourist arrivals by December 30. We get a lot of foreign birders,” said Tiotuico.
