From Aug. 29th - Sept. 3rd 2012, the first Viet Nam international hot air-balloon festival (VIHABF 2012) will take place in Phan Thiet city, Binh Thuan Province under the theme ‘Binh Thuan- Sun shine and Blue sea’.

The event will be held by the Binh Thuan People’ Committee, the Binh Thuan Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and HCM-based Chien Thang Service Co., Ltd aiming to celebrate the 37th anniversary of Binh Thuan liberation (1975 – 2012) and the 20th anniversary of the province’s re-establishment (1992 – 2012).

It is expected that the festival will have the attendance of 20 – 30 balloons piloted by around 50 balloonists from Indonesia, France, Korea, China, Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands…

Each balloon is 22-30 meters in height and of 16-18 meters in diameter. All teams will perform twice a day (6:00-8:30 and 16:00-18:00) and the balloon will fly at the height of 200-500 meters with speed limit is 28km/h. Furthermore, there will be 5 balloons anchored at festival area for tourists to contemplate. In addition, many side-activities and other performances for the main festival will be also taken place at the same time.

The VIHABF 2012 is considered as a significant festival of local authorities and people contributing to attract more domestic and int’l tourists to Binh Thuan. It is hoped that the festival will become an annual event in the future.