Vendors seek soaring sales during AIBF

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The sluggish economy has been a big concern for this year’s Balloon Fiesta, especially for local businesses. At least one Old Town shop owner said business during fiesta week is doing better than last year.

Many fair goers like Pat and Bob Wolanski say the main reason they’ve made their way to New Mexico is for the balloons.

“We're from Philadelphia we decided to come to the balloon fest because we heard so much about it,” Wolanski said.

However, they've only spent a few days at the park. The rest of the week they’ve been taking in the sights and sounds of New Mexico.

“We drove up to Taos and Santa Fe,” Wolanski said.

Saturday the couple decided to stroll through Albuquerque's Old Town.

“Everybody has to eat and buy souvenirs.” Wolanksi said.

Even though they've stepped off the balloon field, they said they couldn't seem to escape Balloon Fiesta fever.

Almost every corner of Old Town is filled with Balloon Fiesta merchandise, welcoming signs for balloonists. Some shops are offering great sales with a tag line—“Balloon Fiesta Sales.”

Shop owners know plugging the fiesta can bring in big bucks.

“This is when we pay all the bills,” Old Town Shop Owner Valentina Sopyn said.

Sopyn said her sales soar during balloon fiesta week. They typically bring in a huge portion of her yearly sales. The hot items this year are chili, t-shirts and wind-spun balloons

“I do hear that we have things that are different than they have out on the balloon field,” Sopyn said.

More variety means more sales. For some balloon lovers there doesn't seem to be a set limit of how much they're willing to spend this week.

“It will probably be a thousand dollars before we're done,” David Bacho said.

However Bacho said the money he’s spent has not all been on souvenirs.

Bacho, like many other fiesta attendees, spent hundreds of dollars at local restaurants, hotels and to pay transportation costs.