Songkran to be celebrated for entire April next year under soft power plan
The government’s National Soft Power Strategy Committee plans to hold month-long Songkran Festival celebrations next year in April, instead of the traditional three days, in a bid to entrench Thailand's standing among the top 10 global destinations for festivals.
Songkran, the Thai traditional new year, falls on April 13, which is also National Elderly Day. Two more holidays were later added on April 14 and 15 as National Family Day and Thai New Year Day, respectively, to allow Thais more time to celebrate reunion with their families.
Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who chairs the committee, announced the plan on Friday on her Facebook page.
She said that the (soft power) plan for next year has started, with 12 subcommittees across 11 industries proposing budgets to boost the creative economy.
“Another exciting topic discussed today was the plan for Songkran Festival next year,” said Paetongtarn. “Next Songkran will not be the same as previous years, as we are preparing a grand event ‘World Water Festival – The Songkran Phenomenon’,” she said.
Paetongtarn said next year’s Songkran would be a world-class event, celebrated not just for three days but the whole month of April, in all 77 provinces across the kingdom.
On Thursday the National Soft Power Strategy Committee met and finalised a budget of 5.164 billion baht to promote Thailand’s soft power across 11 dimensions and drive the country’s creative economy, which will in return generate revenue for tourism and related industries.
Industries that were allocated the most budgets include festival (1.009 billion baht), food (1 billion baht), and tourism (711 million baht).
The committee expects to submit its proposal for approval to the Cabinet next month.
