The organiser of a hot air balloon festival in Hong Kong has said it will offer full refunds after coming under fire for grounding its balloons and cancelling balloon rides.
Grand Events Asia, the organiser of the AIA International Hot Air Balloon Fest Hong Kong (HABFest), made the announcement in a social media post on Sunday evening.
“Despite our best efforts, we recognise that we fell short of delivering the expected customer experience,” the post read.
“We appreciate our title sponsor AIA Hong Kong for their strong concern for customer experience and for enforcing the importance of our role, as the event organizer, in making proper arrangements for affected ticket holders,” it also said.
“As such, we have decided to offer full refunds for all HABFest tickets to express our sincere apologies and gratitude.”
The balloon festival, which ran from Thursday to Sunday, was criticised for axing the highlight of the event – hot air balloon rides – and for grounding many of the hot air balloons that were meant to take flight.
Entry tickets for the four-day festival at the Central Harbourfront were priced at HK$200 for the “sunrise session” and HK$880 for the “sunset session.”
For an extra HK$580, the festival also offered a “tethered hot air balloon experience,” allowing visitors to ride the hot air balloons. The balloon would take them around 10 to 20 metres into the sky, overlooking the cityscape, according to the event’s advertising.
Tickets for the ride could only be bought on site, according to the organiser’s website.
But on the opening day, organisers put up a sign saying that the licence granted by the government only allowed the hot air balloons for “display purposes,” so they would not offer any rides.
Visitors criticised the organiser, saying they felt they were scammed as they bought entry tickets expecting to purchase the ride experience.
Even with the balloons permitted for “display purposes,” the balloons spent more time grounded than in the air.
During Friday’s sunset session, eight balloons were inflated but only one lifted off – reportedly only for five minutes. No balloons during Saturday’s sunset session took flight, and on Sunday, no balloons were flown due to the typhoon.
Andy Austin, part of the team of hot air balloon flying experts assisting with the event, said on Friday that wind was the biggest factor affecting whether balloons could take flight.
“In the mornings, the winds are much kinder, so normally we have two balloons going up in the mornings,” Austin said.
“In the evenings, the air, everything is much hotter. And the atmosphere is more unstable in the evenings,” he added.
Complaints
In the social media post, the festival’s organiser said refunds would be issued for all who purchased tickets through official channels, which included HK Ticketing, KKday, 01 Space, Dai Mai, and Trip.com.
Refund requests will be accepted via email and phone call from Tuesday, and refund will be made within 30 days. Handling fees will not be refunded.
The announcement on Sunday comes after aggrieved customers demanded their money back.
The Consumer Council said that as of 4pm on Sunday, it had received 263 complaints related to the balloon festival, with claims totalling more than HK$270,000.
The festival is a commercial event not funded by the government, but was nonetheless featured by the Hong Kong Tourism Board on both its website and Instagram page.
“Marvel at over 16 spectacular balloons glowing against Victoria Harbour’s skyline while enjoying nightly light shows, live concerts, Ocean Park panda installation parades and more,” said the caption of a Brand Hong Kong post on Monday. It did not mention the ride experience.
The promotions have since been taken down.
