By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego International Airport wanted to celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week with some excitement and enthusiasm, but, goodness, not with a bang!
That’s why costumed characters such as Matilda the Koala from San Diego Zoo and Max from Legoland gently coaxed children who were among arriving passengers in Terminal 2 on Thursday, May 7, not to squeeze the balloons in the large 3-D display of a San Diego beach scene. The eye-catching balloon ode to San Diego included a surfer, palm tree, beach, and cumulus clouds, all created by Israeli-born artist Shahar Masori and native San Diegan Sandi Masori of Balloon Utopia.
The display which also spelled out in balloons “Welcome to SAN” (the call letters for San Diego’s Lindbergh Field) was commissioned by the airport “to thank our passengers and to show our appreciation to them,” said Rebecca Bloomfield, a public information officer for San Diego International Airport.
She noted that the airport averages 50,000 passengers per day and that “last year we broke our passenger record of over 18 million passengers for the year.”
“We really appreciate our passengers,” said Bloomfield. “They have choices and when they choose San Diego, we really appreciate that.”
In addition to the balloon diorama, passengers walking from their planes were treated to photo booths in which they could have their photos taken against such iconic backgrounds as the San Diego Skyline as seen from Coronado, and the 19th-century Hotel del Coronado.
To further enhance passengers enjoyment of their arrival in “America’s Finest City,” as San Diego likes to call itself, airport staff members gave away such items as hand sanitizers, picture cards and mints.
As a matter of full disclosure, I should say that being the father of Balloon Utopia’s head designer Sandi Masori and her husband Shahar, I was somewhat biased in terms of what was my favorite display. But as I watched passengers rolling their bags stop and fish their cameras out of their purses or carry bags and happily take pictures of each other, I realized that whether I was biased or not, the display was a hit. No doubt, some of those photos will be printed, and some others might become computer screen backgrounds—all bringing favorable publicity to San Diego as a tourism destination.
Shahar Masori said the 17 x 10 foot display utilized approximately 3,500 balloons. The display will remain standing through Monday, May 11.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. You may comment to donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com, or post your comment on this website provided that the rules below are observed.
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