On April 16, the Dak Lak Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in collaboration with the People's Committee of Buon Don District, held a press conference to announce the Dak Lak Hot Air Balloon Festival 2025 — Soaring Over the Great Highlands. This is the first time such an event has been organised in the province.
Speaking at the press conference, Pham Trung Nghia, Chairman of Buon Don District People's Committee, stated that the festival will take place in Buon Don District, Dak Lak Province, from May 1 to 3. Aimed at bringing Buon Don closer to domestic and international tourists, the event is jointly organised by the Buon Don District authorities and the Dak Lak Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
This is the first time a large-scale event featuring special experiential activities like hot air ballooning has been hosted locally. The event is not only an entertainment and artistic attraction but also a cultural bridge to promote the tourism potential and unique identity of the Central Highlands people to global friends.
As part of the festival, many exciting activities will take place, including free flight and tethered balloon performances; interactive experiences for visitors; traditional cultural and musical exchange programmes; and food and local specialty stalls, among others.
Nguyen Tien Dung, Deputy General Director of the Dak Lak 2/9 Import-Export One Member Limited Company(Simexco Daklak), shared that the majestic land of Dak Lak possesses abundant potential and advantages for tourism development. As such, Simexco is not only financially sponsoring the Dak Lak Hot Air Balloon Festival 2025 but also committing to a long-term partnership: accompanying the province, its people, and tourism stakeholders to establish a new trend — one of discovery tourism, cultural tourism, and authentic Central Highlands travel.
The festival aims to promote Dak Lak’s tourism potential and showcase the land and people of Buon Don District in particular, and Dak Lak Province in general, to both domestic and international audiences. The goal is that when people think of Dak Lak, they will think not only of coffee, but also of a land of festivals, authentic experiences, and skies filled with the vibrant colours of hot air balloons during festive seasons.
The Dak Lak Hot Air Balloon Festival 2025 will mark the first milestone in this journey, aiming to promote tourism development in the province and improve the livelihoods of local people.
The organisers of the festival hope to welcome over 250,000 visitors to Dak Lak, with Buon Don District alone expecting over 100,000 tourists, helping to place Buon Don firmly on the map of attractive destinations in Vietnam.
