Book Expo Thailand 2022 attracts 1.3 million attendants and generates THB347 million
The Book Expo Thailand 2022 concluded with 1.3 million attendants who spent 347 million baht during the 12-day event, said the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT) on Thursday.
This year’s expo, held under the concept of ‘Booktopia: Utopia for book lovers’ from October 12-23, returned to its original site, Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre for the first time since the centre went under renovation in mid 2019.
PUBAT president Thipsuda Sinchawarnwat said a total of 1,355,893 book lovers have visited the event throughout 12 days, with a high volume of visitors seen on the weekend of October 22-23, during King Chulalongkorn Memorial Day.
Total sales of books during the event were recorded at 347,331,734 baht, increasing 74 per cent from the previous book fair held in March this year. “This shows that the reading trend is bouncing back and people still prefer buying physical books,” said Thipsuda.
Best-selling genres this year are novels, literatures, cartoons, and young adult books, respectively.
Apart from booths selling Thai and international books, the fair also featured various activities including the Booktopia exhibition, Reader Road, Envelope Letters of the Wall, Book Blind Date, and Book Playlist.
Thipsuda said the most popular activity this year, despite being available for only a few days, is the “Human Book” in the Live-Brary zone by PUBAT and publishing partners.
PUBAT will host the next book fair on March 30-April 9 next year at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, and will use suggestions it received for this year’s expo to further improve the next event.
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