General election and learning courses top Thai searches on Google in 2023
Thai netizens followed closely the May 14 general election and are augmenting their occupational skills through learning courses, according to search engine Google Thailand.
The majority of Thai netizens searched for news related to the May 14 general election, followed by news about the Move Forward Party and the Election Commission. This showed that Thai netizens were paying attention to their political rights.
Thai netizens also were interested in taking up courses to improve their occupational skills.
The most searched learning courses were Chinese language, Python programing language, data analytics, hygiene and accounting.
In the “How to” category, most netizens searched for information on how to cast their vote in advance and how to cast their vote outside their home constituency. The other keywords searched the most were what to do if they lost their ID card or driving licence, and if they were infected with Covid-19.
Search volume for concerts increased by 39% year on year. K-pop girl group "Blackpink" topped most searched keywords among Thai netizens in this category, followed by Thai pop rock band “Three Man Down” and Thai hip-hop singer Ratthaphong “Youngohm” Phoorisit.
Searches for concerts of South Korea-based Thai singer Kunpimook "BamBam" Bhuwakul and South Korean boy band "Treasure" came in fourth and fifth, respectively.
A major change was visible in watching movies among Thai netizens with seven Thai films named among the top 10 trending searches. They were: “The Undertaker”, “Tee Yod” (Death Whisperer), “Khun Pan 3”, “Home for Rent”, “Thibaan The Series”, “You & Me & Me” and “6ixtynin9”.
Only three Hollywood films were listed among trending searches: "Oppenheimer", "Fast X" and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse".
Thai netizens were interested in travelling both domestic and overseas. Bangkok topped the most searched keyword for the second consecutive year, followed by Koh Kradan (Trang), Chonburi, Hua Hin and Cha-am (Prachuap Khiri Khan), and Kanchanaburi.
Meanwhile, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia remained popular destinations for Thai netizens due to the short travel time period.
