BANGKOK, 7 April 2015 – The Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects to see a healthy cash flow of 14 billion baht generated during the Songkran festival.
Ministry of Tourism and Sports officials have presented traditional Thai towels and scented water to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his cabinet members ahead of the cabinet meeting today.
The Ministry is expecting a higher number of tourist visits this year. Around 500,000 foreign tourists and 2 million Thais have been forecast to join the water festival, which will begin from April 11th – 19th this year.
The Tourism and Sports Minister, Korbkarn Wattanarangkul, said Thailand expects the number of tourist arrivals to rise to 28 million this year as targeted, after martial law has been lifted.
For safety purpose, Commuters can now have their vehicles checked at no charge before embarking on a long journey upcountry at all 55 PTT gas stations in Bangkok from today on until April 10th.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy is launching an energy saving campaign during the long holiday period, during which electricity consumption is expected to skyrocket as the mercury rises.
According to the Ministry, Myanmar will halt delivering natural gas to Thailand temporarily as it is scheduled to conduct its annual pipeline maintenance during the period.
Prime Minister Prayut is also encouraging Thai people to save energy during the summer months by cutting the usage by half. He added that energy cost is one of the factors affecting the Thai economy.
