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LEGAZPI CITY: For the first time in recent history,
the typhoon-ravaged Albay province in the Bicol region is set
to share its cultural heritage, food, products and festive spirit
with Manila.
The Magayon Festival derived its
name, magayon, from a Bicolano term that translates to maganda in
Filipino. It means “beautiful.” The festivity itself had been
shelved following the series of calamities that hit the province:
the eruption of Mount Mayon, the super typhoons, the flash floods,
mudslides and landslides, with fatalities numbering a thousand.
This year, the provincial
government has opted to revive the celebration of Magayon Festival
2008 on April. Organizers are eyeing a month-long festival, which
Governor Salceda hopes would bring back the “glory of Albay.”
Salceda told The Manila Times
that the provincial government will also put up promotional
materials of Magayon Festival for two months in all airports
specifically at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as well as
other major tourist destinations in the country.
This festival theme this year is
“Albay Rising” which would be the focus of the promotional
campaign and the month-long schedule of activities covering the
various aspects of the good life in Albay.
The provincial government has
allotted P10 million as operating fund for the festival that would
be a cultural showcase aimed to enhance the tourism potential of the
province.
Joe Briones of the provincial
tourism and cultural affairs office is optimistic about the event,
while Maria “Nini” Ong-Ravanilla, tourism regional director said
that the Magayon Festival would again turn the province into a major
destination in Bicol.
Ravanilla said that an effective
marketing strategy, the Magayon Festival would be able to attract
national and foreign tourists and hit the 200,000 mark in tourist
arrivals this year.
She said that despite the
devastation wrought by two super typhoons in 2006, Albay’s tourism
industry slowly started to recover in 2007 with some 127,000 tourist
arrivals, which is equivalent to P84 million in tourism revenues.
“If the trend continues and
Albay hits the 200,000 tourist arrival target this year, this could
translate to P150 million in revenues, and the Magayon Festival
would be a major factor,” Ravanilla said.
--Rhaydz B. Barcia
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