Chiang Mai is gearing up to welcome the Songkran Festival, anticipating over 100,000 tourists, with confidence that the smog issue will have minimal impact.
Municipal officials in Chiang Mai have begun draining water from the city moat, along with spreading disinfectant before letting them dry in the sun.
They are preparing to refill the moat with fresh water to allow tourists to enjoy water splashing during the traditional New Year celebration or Songkran Festival in the city comfortably. Additionally, the Chiang Mai Provincial Administration has installed misting points along the routes leading to the city to increase humidity and alleviate the heat.
Ms Patsalin Savetrat, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Chiang Mai Office, is confident that there will be more than 130,000 tourists traveling to celebrate Songkran in Chiang Mai, the majority of whom will be Thai tourists, nearly 100,000.
Foreign tourists, mainly from China, South Korea, and Taiwan, are expected to make up the largest portion. It is estimated that they will spend no less than 1.2 billion baht. The province highlights the beauty of Lanna culture and traditions, as well as distributing 17,028 bottles of holy water obtained from 9 sacred water sources in Chiang Mai to tourists for blessings.
She was confident that the recent issue of toxic smog covering Chiang Mai will not significantly impact tourism during Songkran as hotel bookings for the festival period are still high at nearly 80 percent. (TNA)
