Kaohsiung hot air balloon rides set for September, tickets on sale from Aug. 5

高雄熱氣球9月登場，8月5日開始售票

There will be 23 and 10 sessions of rides at Moon World and the Love River, respectively


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau will be running tethered hot air balloon rides in September in the 2022 Kaohsiung Balloon Festival, and tickets will go on sale from 5 p.m. on Friday (Aug. 5), the bureau announced Wednesday.

In light of the tremendous success of last year’s event in October, during which tickets for some balloon ride sessions sold out immediately and the full capacity for every session was reached, the bureau decided to hold this year’s version in September, CNA reported.

There will be 23 sessions of tethered hot air balloon rides at Moon World in Tienliao District and 10 sessions at the Love River in the downtown area, the bureau said. Under fair weather conditions, the entire event can provide rides for 5,000 people.

According to the bureau, the morning session will run approximately from 6-8 a.m., and the afternoon session will take place approximately from 4-6 p.m. as exact times will vary slightly, depending on the weather condition as well as the sunrise and sunset times of each day.

Tickets can be purchased via the ibon ticketing system at 7-Eleven convenience stores across the country or other online ticketing systems from 5 p.m. on Friday. Tickets can also be purchased on-site during the activity period. A ticket sells for NT$500 (US$16.5).

Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau Director Chou Ling-wen (周玲妏) said the tethered hot air balloon rides at the Moon World site are set to take off from Sept. 2-13, and the rides at the Love River site are scheduled for Sept. 16-25, per CNA.

There will be nightly mini-hot air balloon light shows at each site and a weekend food fair at the Love River site, CNA quoted Chou as saying.