Expensive fuel and war fears hit Thai confidence for Songkran trips

The war in the Middle East, now dragging on for more than a month, is casting a shadow over travel during the Songkran festival, a global event for Thailand. Hotel, retail and event operators largely see Songkran tourism in 2026 as either weaker or flat compared with last year, even as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) estimates domestic spending at 30.35 billion baht, up 6%.

Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun, president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), said that after more than a month of turmoil in the Middle East, the association expected Thai travel during the long Songkran holiday to be affected by high fuel prices, a factor beyond operators’ control.

He said that if fuel shortages were to emerge, the psychological impact would be even greater, discouraging people from travelling across provinces because they would no longer be confident about finding petrol stations along the way. Under normal circumstances, many Thais would use the holiday to drive long distances with family and friends, such as from Bangkok to Chiang Mai or Krabi, but now many may postpone those plans.

As for the foreign market, the conflict in the Middle East has had a clear impact through sharply higher airfares. Some routes from Europe have already doubled in price after the number of flights requiring stopovers in the Middle East fell by around 50%. Even so, Songkran in Thailand is now regarded as a global event, and missing it this year means waiting until next year, which is still drawing foreign visitors keen to experience it.

“Tourism during Songkran this year is quieter than last year. The longer fuel prices keep rising, the quieter travel becomes. We are therefore quite concerned about tourism in the second quarter, because not only is it entering the low season, but it is also being hit by expensive fuel, at a time when operators had been hoping to rely on the domestic market,” he said.

Chiang Mai Songkran hit hardest by toxic haze crisis

Thienprasit added that booking figures in major tourism cities showed Phuket was likely to post the strongest hotel reservations during Songkran, in contrast with Chiang Mai, which is facing its worst crisis from severe PM2.5 pollution on top of the impact from the war.

He said new bookings that should have come in had instead disappeared, and Songkran occupancy in Chiang Mai this year was now expected to be only 50-60%, far below previous years, when hotels were often full.

In the eastern region, second-quarter bookings have fallen by 10-15% as tourists worry about rising fuel prices, which are affecting travel decisions by Thai holidaymakers during Songkran. Pattaya, however, is still benefiting from an overflow of Russian tourists from Phuket, while bookings in Bangkok for Songkran remain lower than last year.

“When compared with the rising prices of other goods, hotels still cannot raise room rates under current conditions. Operators have to focus on generating enough revenue to break even and cover fixed costs, while also offering additional services to guests to help stimulate tourism,” he said.

The Thai Hotels Association wants the government to introduce direct cost-relief measures for operators, including cuts to various taxes such as land tax. It is also calling for working capital support for SMEs, as the Middle East crisis has pushed up airfares, weakened demand and reduced visitor numbers.

Central Pattana sees Bangkok benefiting from domestic shift

Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, chief marketing officer at Central Pattana Plc, said overall Songkran travel this year was likely to remain flat. Expensive fuel was already having a considerable psychological effect and could lead more Thais to stay in Bangkok rather than travel to other provinces.

At the same time, people in different parts of the country were also likely to choose shopping centres closer to home, which should benefit malls under the Central Pattana group.

“The hot weather is also making people want to spend more time in shopping centres. During Songkran this year, we believe fewer Thais will travel overseas because of travel constraints and higher airfares, which should encourage more domestic travel instead,” he said.

He said Songkran had already become a world-famous festival, and Central Pattana was working with all sectors to elevate it into a global event on a par with major international festivals such as Rio Carnival, Oktoberfest and Holi, all of which have strong identities and attract huge numbers of visitors each year.

“For Thailand, Songkran is the world’s biggest water festival. It has a strong cultural identity and can create experiences across the country at the same time. Songkran therefore generates both travel and spending within a single period, which is the heart of the festival economy and creates high economic value for Thai tourism.”

He said Central Pattana was acting as a platform capable of genuinely raising Songkran nationwide while strengthening its wider ecosystem by linking culture, entertainment and tourism. Under the campaign “Central Songkran: World’s Biggest Water Festival”, the company is expanding celebrations to 44 branches nationwide, with more than 1,000 events, over 400 artists and major concerts, reinforcing its position as a leading global “culturetainment” landmark expected to draw more than 10 million participants across the country.

TAT sees Bt30bn Songkran boost, but organisers warn mood is softer

Thailand’s Songkran festival in 2026 is expected to generate around 30.35 billion baht in tourism revenue between April 11 and 15, up 6% from the same period last year, according to Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool. TAT is also pressing ahead with the Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2026 on a grand scale.

For the foreign market, TAT expects about 500,000 overseas visitors, up 4%, generating roughly 8.1 billion baht, up 2% year on year. In the domestic market, Thai travellers are projected to make around 5.963 million trips, up 7%, generating about 22.25 billion baht, an increase of 8%.

Rachata Thanyawut, founder and chief executive of One Asia Ventures, said the company expected a stronger response to SIAM Songkran Music Festival 2026 than last year, even with expensive fuel weighing on sentiment. The event is scheduled for April 11-14 at Bravo BKK Arena Area, RCA, Bangkok, with organisers saying demand has been helped by the pull of major DJ headliners.

He said the company had increased its budget for the event to 250 million baht, up from 230 million baht last year, while the venue is designed to accommodate large daily crowds. The organiser believes the latest ticket sales point to a packed turnout. This year’s showing, he said, is still better than last year, when sentiment was hit even harder by the earthquake situation.

Vuthithorn Milintachinda, founder of S2O, said the event business was feeling the same economic pressure as other sectors, including restaurants and hotels, amid weaker tourism numbers. TAT’s official Songkran calendar lists S2O Songkran Music Festival 2026 for April 11-13 at S2O Land Ratchada, while organisers say Thai attendees are expected to account for more than 60% of festival-goers this year, the first time in five years that locals have outnumbered foreign visitors.

He said this year’s Songkran event economy was likely to be weaker than last year overall, with warning signs visible since January and February, when shops appeared quieter, restaurant footfall thinned and some businesses closed. Against that backdrop, S2O has focused on improving atmosphere, production and event management to keep the festival attractive to its target audience.

Vuthithorn added that foreign attendance at S2O was expected to fall again this year, especially from China, while Thai visitors would make up a larger share of the crowd. He said travel patterns had also shifted, with more people buying tickets closer to the event date, booking short-haul trips and making faster decisions on hotels and flights. He expects weak global conditions to push more Thais to holiday within the country instead.

He added that, alongside S2O, 2026 would also mark the debut of K2O, a new K-pop water music festival launched with Korean partners. Forbes Thailand reported that the broader S2O Land project in Ratchada would host both S2O and K2O across April 11-14, with organisers aiming to attract at least 30,000 people a day to S2O and around 20,000 a day to K2O.