By Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA
BACOLOD CITY — The Bacolod Welcome Marker, with its ceremonial lighting held on Monday night, is poised to become one of the city’s tourism icons.
Located at the boundary of the cities of Bacolod and Talisay in Negros Occidental, the Las Vegas-inspired, MassKara Festival-themed landmark was an idea of Mayor Evelio Leonardia executed by Megaworld Corp. on a portion of its 53-hectare township development in the area.
“We see this to become an icon of Bacolod. It’s the one and only in the Philippines. We should be very proud of it,” the mayor said during the ceremonial lighting on Monday night.
He thanked the property giant for making his vision a reality.
“This may be a simple celebration, but this will have far-reaching effects. In the future, when people will think of Bacolod, they will think of this (marker),” he added.
Leonardia, taking inspiration from the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign in Nevada, United States, presented the idea of the welcome park to Megaworld, which constructed the marker at no cost to the city government.
The 7.2-meter marker, which greets both incoming and outgoing visitors, features colorful masks lighted up at night.
“Starting today, Las Vegas has a competition. This will be better than Las Vegas, I assure you,” Leonardia said.
Harold Brian Geronimo, senior assistant vice president for public relations and media affairs of Megaworld, said the mayor was “very hands-on” on how his vision will be executed, and the company worked on the project to help boost the tourism industry of Bacolod.
“This is a gift, a token of Megaworld to Bacolod City and Negros Occidental,” he added.
Geronimo earlier said the Bacolod Welcome Park will be “seamlessly integrated” into the North Hill Town Center, allowing visitors’ access to souvenir shops, retail stores, and restaurants within the commercial complex.
