A walking street in Thailand Photo: iStock/arcady_31
Thailand’s “grand strategy” to attract tourists kicks off with the Winter Festival, which includes popular events such as the Loi Krathong festival, the Bangkok Marathon and the 2024 New Year’s Eve celebrations. The Arts Department under the Ministry of Culture will light up historical heritage sites at night. These events are designed to showcase Thai culture and attract tourists during the peak season in late 2023 through January 2024.
It is expected that about 3,000 events and cultural festivals will be held to attract tourists. According to The Nation Thailand , the Loy Krathong festival will be held on the night of December 15th of the Thai lunar calendar, which usually falls in November of the Gregorian calendar every year, this year on November 27th. The Loy Krathong festival is held in all provinces in Thailand with different events, activities, and ways of making lanterns to highlight the uniqueness of each locality.
Starting in December 2023, Thailand will open nightlife venues in some areas of Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Chonburi until 4am. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) aims to create valuable experiences for visitors and increase spending rather than just focusing on the number of arrivals. Conversely, to reduce overtourism, some popular destinations will have restrictions, some islands may be closed for a certain period of time. TAT will continue to maintain the “Amazing Thailand” brand as well as target specific segments such as Chinese couples, Indian weddings, business travelers, digital nomads (working remotely via the internet) as well as tourists coming for health and beauty treatments, etc.
“We will design more attractions and promotions to encourage tourists to stay longer. And when they stay longer, there will be more events to keep them coming back, with a special emphasis on providing a vibrant nightlife scene with a variety of entertainment activities. This is how we plan to get tourists to spend more,” said Mr. Prommin, Secretary General to the Prime Minister of Thailand.
Most recently, according to a survey and ranking of the 10 most searched tourist destinations worldwide this year conducted by the Spanish-based travel company eDreams Odigeo, Thailand's capital Bangkok ranked 4th, just behind London (UK), Paris (France) and New York (USA). Channel New Asia reported that Thai government spokesman Traisulee Traisaranakul said that entertainment venues such as nightclubs, bars, and karaoke bars in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Samui are allowed to open for 2 more hours, until 4 a.m.
Allowing entertainment venues to extend their opening hours is one of the measures taken by the Thai government to attract more foreign visitors. Immediately after the government approved this decision, nightlife venues in Thailand operating between 2am and 4am saw a significant increase in profits. However, researchers said the growth was insignificant because nightlife activities contribute very little to the country's total GDP and the main tourist group from China is spending less.
Previously, in September 2023, Thailand exempted visa requirements for Chinese tourists, an important source of tourists for the country. The government is also discussing allowing visitors from some European countries to stay for 90 days, tripling the current period. According to the Bangkok Post , in the first phase, some countries that will benefit from this policy include the UK, Germany, and countries in the Scandinavian region and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The Thai government previously exempted visas temporarily for visitors from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, India, and Taiwan (China) to boost the peak tourist season, while also requiring airlines to add more routes and reduce waiting times for visitors at the airport. The Thai government's move to consider visa exemptions for some European countries is considered a new "grand strategy" to promote tourism and attract more international visitors.
Tourism is the main driver of the Thai economy. However, the growth rate of this industry is currently slower than other industries. Therefore, the Thai government is trying to introduce measures to boost the tourism industry.
Thai An
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