ID :
362560
Tue, 04/07/2015 - 12:23
Auther :

Over Bt14.5b expected to be changed hands in Thailand during Songkran Festival

BANGKOK, April 7 (TNA) - The upcoming Songkran or Traditional Thai New Year Festival is expected to attract more than two million revelers nationwide, over 500,000 of them are foreign visitors, with more than 14.5 billion baht likely to be changed hands totally. Speaking during an event to promote the upcoming Songkran Festival at Bangkok's Government House before the Cabinet's weekly meeting on Tuesday morning, Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha quoted the state-run Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) as predicting that more than 500,000 foreign tourists should visit the country during the festivity, set from April 11-19, 2015. The prime minister noted that the anticipated number of foreign visitors in Thailand during the upcoming water splashing festival is about 30 per cent higher than last year. The prime minister also quoted TAT as projecting that the number of Thai revelers alone is predicted to exceed 2 million, while over 14.5 billion baht is likely to be changed hands during the period nationwide, as most hotel rooms have almost been reserved. At the event, Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, together with TAT staff and actors, presented a loincloth and Thai perfume to the prime minister to campaign for the upcoming Traditional Thai Festival. Kobkarn told journalists that the number of international tourist arrivals in Thailand this year should reach 28.8 million as officially targeted, as the number of international visitors rose by 23 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter of this year. The minister said that the revocation of the martial law recently helps boost domestic tourism. The minister pointed out that Japanese travellers, in particular, have been arriving in Thailand because the martial law revocation allows them to seek insurance for their travels. (TNA)

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