To increase tourism both domestically and internationally during the New Year season, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin declared his government’s plan to market Thailand as a worldwide festival destination.
Srettha revealed today that Thailand would play home to two major events: the “Colourful Bangkok Winter Festival 2023,” which comprises 200 festivals and events in the capital, and the “Thailand Winter Festival,” which comprises 3,000 festivals and local events around the nation. These events are scheduled for November and December of this year.
“Our objective is to leverage these two significant events to enhance the nation’s economy and draw travelers to Thailand,” Srettha declared. She also disclosed strategies to market the nation as a global festival hotspot by enhancing its facilities, like building a new airport on the Andaman coast and implementing a visa-exempt policy to draw travelers from specific nations.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the deputy chairperson of the “soft power strategic committee,” clarified that Srettha had stated two activities that will take place between the Christmas-New Year season and Loy Krathong, two significant holidays. Paetongtarn thinks that Thailand’s many festivals—which include countdowns to the New Year, sports, food, entertainment, arts and culture, and traditions—will help the country become known to international visitors as a destination for festivals, particularly toward the end of the year.
We consider this to be a significant chance for Thailand to establish itself as a top travel destination for visitors from outside at the end of the year. We wish that travelers from all over the world will decide to spend the year-end festivities in Thailand. Additionally, since Christmas and New Year’s Eve spending tends to be higher, we anticipate that these year-end celebrations will strengthen the Thai economy and draw in international visitors.
In an effort to increase tourism during the last quarter of the year, the Srettha cabinet has already given visitors from China and Kazakhstan admission without a visa. The cabinet has also decided to waive the requirement for an entry visa for visitors from Taiwan and India who wish to spend up to 30 days in Thailand.
This year, the Thai government hopes to welcome 25 million foreign visitors, or almost two million every month. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Thailand has welcomed 22 million visitors so far this year, resulting in spending of 927 billion baht. Malaysia (3.61 million), China (2.76 million), South Korea (1.31 million), India (1.29 million), and Russia (1.08 million) are the top five nationalities who travel to Thailand.
