TAT counts on happy Songkran
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Songkran this year is looking to be more festive and colourful, with activities scheduled across the nation.
More than 180 charter flights were recorded on Wednesday. Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said yesterday that Phuket, Bangkok and Chiang Mai were the destinations of those charters.
Chiang Mai especially is welcoming hordes of Chinese coming to track down the locations of the blockbuster “Lost in Thailand”.
The number of charter flights will be on the rise during Songkran, he said. Last year saw more than 200 arriving in the northern city.
TAT said the festival outlook this year was brighter than in previous years, which had faced tensions from politics and the great flood. This year, people are in a good mood to enjoy the long holiday. They have more money to spend after paying for repairs to their homes hit by the flood of late 2011.
TAT is organising and supporting celebrations in Bangkok and 12 provinces across the nation. From April 12-16, 2.71 million people are expected to enjoy these events, up 10 per cent from last year. Of them, 2.03 million are Thais and 678,000 are foreigners.
Tourism revenue is expected to increase 20 per cent to about Bt11.12 billion, of which Bt4.45 billion will be spent by Thais and Bt6.67 billion by foreign tourists.
Tourism revenue will also be helped by spending from first-car buyers, who will drive to nearby provinces and boost the grass-roots economy, TAT hopes.
