The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has revealed that tourism revenue earned from international visitor arrivals to Thailand and domestic trips during the 2019 Songkran or traditional Thai New Year holiday all showed year-on-year increases over the same period in 2018.
TAT Governor Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn said that during the holiday period of 12-16 April, 2019, total revenue from the international arrivals and domestic trips amounted to 22.07 billion Baht, an increase of 15 percent year-on-year.
The number of international arrivals reached 543,300 (up eight percent year-on-year) and generated revenue of 10.23 billion Baht (up 14 percent). There were 3.27 million trips by domestic tourists (up three percent) generating 11.84 billion Baht (up seven percent).
The domestic market also performed close to the expectation.
To showcase local traditions of the annual Thai water festival, TAT staged Songkran 2019 festivities in the three emerging destinations of Tak, Mukdahan and Ranong. It also supported activities in 10 other provinces (Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Lampang, Udon Thani, Songkhla and Phuket).
While the Songkran or traditional Thai New Year holiday normally takes place from 13-15 April every year, there are some locations that stage unique local festivities a little later. These include in Samut Prakan’s Phra Pradaeng district in the Central Thailand region, where the local Monpeople observe New Year traditions from 19-21 April.
In the Na Haeo district of Loei in Northeastern Thailand, locals celebrate the Thai New Year with a procession of flower trees – the only tradition of its kind in the country. This year the procession is on 19 and 27 April.
In the Eastern region, Chon Buri’s Pattaya-Naklua districts celebrate Wan Lai (water day) on 18-19 April, Map Ta Phut in Rayong’s Songkran is from 19-21 April (with 21 April being Wan Lai), and the country’s easternmost Songkran celebration takes place at Laem Ngop in Trat on the last Friday of April (26 April 2019).
