On September 1st, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ca Mau province said that after 4 days of the 1st Ca Mau Provincial Heritage Culture Festival and Hot Air Balloon Festival in 2026, the locality attracted about 121,500 people and tourists, an increase of 76.7% compared to the same period in 2025.
The festival with the theme "Convergence of cultural identity at the southernmost point of the Fatherland" takes place from August 27 to September 2, at Hung Vuong Square, Bac Lieu ward and some locations in Ca Mau province.
The highlight of the event is that Ca Mau organized the Hot Air Balloon Festival for the first time. Performance activities, experiential flights and hot air balloon lanterns attracted a large number of people and tourists.
Especially, on the two evenings of August 28 and August 30, many hot air balloons simultaneously lit up, creating a brilliant lighting space at Hung Vuong Square. People and tourists gathered to visit, take photos, and record moments of their first appearance in Ca Mau.
The event also marks the launch of the largest tourist hot air balloon in Vietnam, creating new experiences and opening up directions for tourism product development for the locality.
Along with hot air balloon activities, the Festival introduces a space that converges the quintessence of intangible cultural heritage of many localities such as Hanoi, Tuyen Quang, Bac Ninh and Da Nang. The space to promote the salt making heritage at Cao Van Lau Theater also attracts people and tourists to learn about the traditional craft of the locality.
The trade, culinary and OCOP fair with nearly 400 booths is organized in the area behind Cao Van Lau Theater and Youth Park, contributing to creating more space for sightseeing, shopping and experiencing.
Hung Vuong Square alone welcomed about 25,400 visitors during the event days.
According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ca Mau province, the Festival not only creates new cultural and tourism products but also contributes to stimulating consumer demand, promoting the image of the southernmost land of the Fatherland and enhancing the attractiveness of Ca Mau destination.
Mr. Ly Vy Trieu Duong - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ca Mau province - said that the locality expects to gradually build the Festival into an annual cultural and tourism brand, with a spreading power in the Mekong Delta region and the whole country.
