The first International Hot Air Balloon Festival (VIHABF 2012) made debut in Binh Thuan Province on August 31st under a message, "Blue Sea - White Sand - Yellow Sunshine", with the participation of 60 pilots and balloonists from 12 countries and territories worldwide such as the US, the Netherlands, the UK and France.
Present at the opening ceremony were Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai, other representatives of ministries and departments and local people.
During the festival, 21 balloons with different shapes, sizes and colors will be airborne at altitude of 100-200m in a radius of 25km. Besides, there are also 15 flying and 5 hanging balloons to serve tourists.
Apart from balloon performances, the event comprises many attracting activities, such as paragliding contest, kite and model aircraft demonstrations and a fair with 150 booths.
It is a good chance for Vietnamese tourism sector to advertise beautiful landscapes of Vietnam in general and Binh Thuan in particular to international friends.