Thailand plans to extend Water Festival to one month

Thailand plans to extend its Songkran water festival by a month, raising the event to international status and placing the country among the world's top 10 festival destinations.

Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Chairwoman of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee (NSPSC), said on December 1 that the NSPSC agreed to promote Songkran to become one of the most unique festivals in the world. The NSPSC plans to organize the Songkran water festival to welcome the new year for a whole month instead of the traditional 3 days.

“Make Songkran an event that people have to fly to Thailand to attend and make Thailand one of the top 10 festival destinations in the world,” she said.

Tourists participate in Songkran Water Festival 2023. Photo: Reuters — Tourists participate in Songkran Water Festival 2023. Photo: *Reuters*

Previously, the NSPSC decided to spend more than 5 billion baht (nearly 143 million USD) to promote Thailand's soft power in 11 areas, helping to further develop the country's creative economy and generate more revenue for tourism and related industries. Accordingly, the areas expected to receive the largest budget allocation include festival activities (one billion baht - nearly 29 million USD), food (one billion baht) and tourism (711 million baht - more than 20 million USD).

The NSPSC is expected to submit its proposal to the cabinet for approval next month. The committee will draw on more than 5 billion baht from the country's Central Emergency Fund, instead of the 2024 budget that has yet to be approved by parliament. On her Facebook page, Ms. Paetongtarn added that the committee expects the extended festival to generate 35 billion baht (more than $1 billion) for the Thai economy.

Chadatip Chutrakul, director of Siam Piwat Group and chairwoman of the festival subcommittee, said they planned to hold more than 10,000 events nationwide throughout 2024. Songkran will be held on Rachadamnoen Boulevard and other locations in Bangkok's Old Town, while provinces will also hold water festivals to promote their own traditions.

However, the extension of the Songkran festival has also been controversial. Nattavudh Powdthavee, an economics professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said that three days is the perfect length for Songkran. Extending the festival’s activities over a month could make people feel “bored” and “devalue it.”

Van Khanh (according to Bangkok Post )

Source link