Thailand is in the middle of its Songkran celebrations, marking the country’s traditional New Year, which have millions participating in the world’s biggest water fight.
Thai officials and business owners have welcomed the festivities that increase the country's soft power and boost its economy.
In many areas of Thailand, including the capital, Bangkok, Songkran public water fights usually last for three days starting on April 13. But this year the festival began a day earlier as Thailand enjoys a long public holiday weekend. In some areas, like the northern city of Chiang Mai, the public water fighting rituals tend to last longer.
Millions of domestic tourists and foreign visitors celebrate the occasion, boosting business for Thai companies in the tourism industry.
Chan Holland, owner of travel agency Canary Travel Thailand in Bangkok, said she believes this Songkran festival has attracted more visitors.
“More people come to Songkran this year; it’s busier for both Thai and [international] tourists” she told VOA. “There are concerts and shows, parades at the royal grounds in front of the Grand Palace. The Thai government is trying to promote the festival more internationally.”
May Kung, a part-owner of Ruen Thong restaurant in Bangkok, said bookings have increased.
“My restaurant [bookings] are better than last year. About 20% [busier],” she told VOA.
Thais enjoy the festivities by visiting temples, cleaning Buddha statues, and engaging in public water fights, which are seen as cleansing rituals. In Bangkok, excited revellers from Thailand and abroad began with the water dousing as early as Thursday.
In photos: Thailand water festival
People in the capital wore colorful, flowery shirts, armed themselves with toy water guns and buckets of water, and drenched each other from morning until night.
Authorities closed major roads for the crowds, but it was still shoulder-to-shoulder in popular areas like the Silom district, Khao San Road and the Sanam Luang field near the Grand Palace. The Siam Songkran Music Festival is another major event taking place over the weekend.
The Thai government says the Songkran celebrations, officially the “Maha Songkran World Water Festival,” will be extended this year. This comes after UNESCO designated Songkran as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in December.
“To honor its recent UNESCO designation, the 2024 festival will be celebrated [for up] to three weeks, from April 1 to 21, uniting all 77 provinces in a celebration of unmatched scale,” Nithee Seeprae, the deputy governor for marketing communications at the Tourism Authority of Thailand, told VOA.
Confusion from some international visitors has put a damper on the celebrations. Some international visitors thought that public water fights would last for the entire three weeks, prompting the Thai government to respond by saying the celebrations would not all take place simultaneously.
But the festival does come at a time when Thailand has fewer concerns than recent years. The Southeast Asian country has been marred by political unrest, military coups and the COVID-19 pandemic in the last decade.
“It’s the first year under civilian government and without real fears regarding COVID-19,” Pravit Rojanaphruk, a veteran journalist at Khaosod English newspaper, told VOA.
Thailand is now led by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin after nine years under military governance. Songkran shows Thailand’s soft power, officials say.
“The Srettha government is very keen to promote it as a key festival on the global calendar and in this regard, Thailand is succeeding, despite the fact that Songkran is also celebrated in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and even parts of China,” Pravit added.
While the Songkran festival is one of the biggest holidays on the Thai calendar, the nationwide event significantly boosts the economy, which relies heavily on tourism.
The industry provides around 20% of jobs in the Southeast Asian country. Thailand saw 28 million tourist arrivals in 2023 with 35 million expected in 2024.
“We estimate that there will be over 500,000 international tourists in Bangkok and around for the Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2024 from April 11 to 15, joining locals and domestic travelers at the extravaganza at the heart of this year’s celebration,” Nithee Seeprae said.
“For economic benefit, this constitutes 8.76 billion Baht (around $240 million) from international tourism and 15.66 billion Baht (around $428.3 million) from domestic tourism with 510,000 visitor arrivals and 4.29 million domestic trips,” he added.
Tourism analyst Gary Bowerman said he believes Thailand’s government will want to maximize Songkran but must be cautious about overdoing the festival in the future.
“Essentially, Thailand is seeking to ‘extend the franchise,’ and make Songkran a three-week festival around the country to promote water-themed tourism activities,” he told VOA.
“The timing is important, as this is the start of the traditional off-peak season, and the [Tourism Authority of Thailand] doesn’t want the momentum that developed in the first quarter to drop significantly, as it has set itself an ambitious full-year visitor arrivals target.
“The risk is that, ultimately, you could dilute the cultural resonance of Songkran, and turn it into a less meaningful event across a longer period. There will be a lot of learnings from this first year of making it an extended festival. Next year will likely see further changes based on the 2024 Songkran experiences for the tourism sector across the country,” he added.
