Hotel bookings in Chiang Mai surge for upcoming Lunar Festival

Several tourist destinations in the Northern province continue to enjoy popularity among tourists, both Thai and international, especially during the high season, both for their natural attractions and temples.

Paisan Sukcharoen, the president of the Northern Upper Region Hotel Association of Thailand, is delighted with the figures, saying that the current tourism atmosphere in Chiang Mai is experiencing an upward trend.

The cool weather contributes to the continued popularity and attracts a significant number of international tourists, he added.

The majority of these visitors are from Europe, Scandinavia, and South Korea, and there was a notable increase during the year-end and New Year festival season. Korean tourists, in particular, have seen a significant rise, comparable to the influx of Chinese tourists.

From last month to early this month, more than 26,000 of the total hotel rooms available in the association were booked, many of them for the New Year festival, which featured a diverse range of tourism-promoting activities such as the Charming Chiang Mai Flower Festival and the recent Chiang Mai Flower Festival.

Paisan also reported a notable increase in reservations over the upcoming Chinese New Year festival this week, with over 60% of rooms booked, primarily by Chinese tourists.

This positive trend is a result of the visa-free entry policy, encouraging Chinese travellers to choose Chiang Mai as their destination. He advised those planning to participate in the Songkran festival in April to plan and book accommodation well in advance.

In addition to the 26,000 rooms available from member hotels of the Northern Upper Region Hotel Association of Thailand, Chiang Mai has an additional 50,000 to 60,000 rooms from non-member small to medium-sized hotels that are well-prepared to accommodate tourists throughout the year.