Author: Jun Ariolo Aguirre (304 Articles)

KALIBO, Aklan- The Kalibo Ati-atihan Management Board (KAMB) is eyeing to connect with several Ati-atihan celebrations worldwide in January 2011 as part of its promotional activities, hoping that there would be more tourists to come to this town during its future festivities.
Terence Toriano, information officer of the Kalibo local government, said that currently they are preparing to send communications to the different Ati-atihan organizers in Italy, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Vancouver, Canada and California USA for a possible joint celebration of Ati-atihan worldwide next year.
Report said Aklanons in Italy have started their own Ati-atihan celebrations last January 17, attracting a thousand tourists. Unconfirmed reports also indicate that an Ati-atihan event will be showcased in Singapore on October 31 of this year.
“Due to economic crises, we are having difficulty of promoting Ati-atihan despite it is considered as the mother of Philippine festivals. An Australian media recently covering the Ati-atihan said that the revelry can be best packaged as a fun festival,” Toriano said.
All of the Ati-atihan celebrations in the mentioned countries or state were organized by Aklanon migrants. The organizers were also being helped by their fellow Filipino migrants.
According to the report of the Department of Tourism, the recent 798th year celebration saw a 30-percent increase in the number of visitors.
The KAMB is also eyeing the possibility of making the Ati-atihan a global event if the planned connections with the Ati-atihan organizers worldwide would be materialized with the use of the modern technology.
But Toriano said this town still needs more facilities for tourists such as hotels.
Currently, the Kalibo International Airport receives direct flights from neighboring countries such as Korea, China and Taiwan.
Most of the tourist passengers of the direct flights are bound for Boracay Island, which is considered as among the Top 10 best beaches in the world.