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The Sabor & Vilariça Ballon Fest is scheduled for the 26th and 30th of April and will take place in the municipalities of Baixo Sabor, specifically in Alfândega da Fé, Mogadouro, Torre de Moncorvo and Macedo de Cavaleiros, as well as the neighboring municipality of Vila Flor, in the heart of the Vilariça Valley.
For the president of Turismo do Porto e Norte, Luís Pedro Martins, this is a differentiating tourist offer, since the greatest difficulty for this organization is to attract tourists from the metropolitan area, which is a gateway, and bring them inland.
“It was necessary to come up with an idea that would work and that would differentiate the tourist offer for this inland region. When we look at the Vilariça Valley or the overwhelming landscape of Lagos do Sabor, the Douro or the Tua Valley, we realize that ballooning could be an anchor for promoting tourism in these territories”, stressed the official.
TPN intends to reach the international tourist market by promoting the landscapes of Lagos do Sabor and Vale da Vilariça.
“Today, we are seeing the birth of a product, which in a few years could give rise to a new tourist offer that has a great impact in other latitudes such as Turkey, and we believe that this experience will go well in this territory”, said Luís Pedro Martins .
In order to achieve success, from the perspective of the promoters of this festival, it is necessary that there be several editions “with the objective of attracting tour operators to be able to develop ballooning in this region throughout the year”.
This festival will feature 15 hot air balloons that will make static and free flights over these Trás-os-Montes and Douro landscapes.
For the municipality of Vila Flor, the opportunity for visitors to watch free flights and the “Night Glow” is reserved, which consists of a light and sound show, where the balloons will synchronize their burners to the rhythm of the music.
This will be one of the highlights of the festival, with a night edition and lasting 45 minutes that will combine hot air balloons and electronic music.
The president of AMBS, Eduardo Tavares, said that this is an important initiative that intends to publicize this region.
“This offer joins others existing in the region, to affirm Trás-os-Montes as a tourist destination not only of quality but also of excellence. We hope that this festival will come to stay and that it can work in rotation with activities in all the municipalities involved”, said the mayor of Alfândega da Fé.
Around 100,000 euros are involved in this festival on the part of TPN alone and the organizers hope to “quadruple the investment”.
According to TPN, the economic weight of ballooning is two million euros and it is estimated that in 2022 around 7,500 passengers will have been transported by all operators, especially on tourist flights.
The experience at Sabor & Vilariça Ballon Fest is free, but reservations are required, through the website www.saborvilariça-balloofest.com
