TAT expects over 200,000 tourists to visit Chiang Mai for Songkran
More than 200,000 tourists are expected to visit Chiang Mai and generate at least 2 billion baht in income for local businesses during the April 13-17 Songkran holidays, said the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
“This year TAT’s Chiang Mai Office is cooperating with Chiang Mai Municipality to hold a sacred water-mixing ceremony at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in Muang district on April 10,” office director Watcharayut Kuawong said on Wednesday.
“We will mix ‘secret water’ from various temples in the province over an incantation ceremony at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, before filling the water in 10,726 bottles and giving these to tourists and the general public at Tha Phae Gate and the Three Kings Monument in Muang district on April 12 and 13,” he explained.
Apart from handing out bottles of the secret water, the office is organising a grand traditional dance featuring 300 performers aged 5 to 77 in colourful attire sporting classic long nails. The dance will take place in front of the Three Kings Monument on April 11 and 12 to attract tourists.
All participants or visitors must provide a vaccine certificate or negative ATK result to prevent Covid-19 from spreading.
“Although water splashing in public is still not allowed due to the Covid-19 situation, we hope that at least 200,000 people would visit Chiang Mai during the five days of Songkran and generate income of more than 2 billion baht,” said Watcharayut.
“From April 8-10, TAT’s Chiang Mai Office will also take 30 tourism entrepreneurs in the province to a promotional event at Central Phuket shopping mall to advertise Chiang Mai’s hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions to p
