Activities for this year’s Loy Krathong Festival will be held at seven major tourist destinations across Thailand, which include Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Sukhothai, Tak, and Ayutthaya.
The Loy Krathong festival, which falls on November 17, is expected to be lively this year despite the ongoing political protests in the capital. The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce ‘s Economic and Business Forecasting Center earlier predicted that public spending this year would top10 billion baht, with each person spending around 1,500 baht on average.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is taking the helm in hosting the festivities in major provinces this year. In Bangkok, a light and sound show, a concert, and fireworks will be held at Asiatique the Riverfront from November 15-17. All 28 public parks run by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will also be opened for members of the public to go floating their krathong, but there will be no entertainment.
In other popular destinations such as Sukothai, Ayutthaya and Tak, revelers will float their krathong on main rivers, attend beauty pageants and visit markets in nearby areas. In Chiang Mai, since Loy Krathong coincides with the Lanna festival known as Yi Peng, the northern version of Loy Krathong will be held from November 10-18 at Tha Phae Gate and at Lanna Local Museum.
After the passing of His Holiness Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, the TAT had earlier agreed to suspend all activities related to the festival but later decided to organize the festival on a more subdued scale. Certain entertainment may be omitted as deemed appropriate. The suspension of the entire festival will damage the country’s tourism revenue, which is significantly boosted during the period.
Authorities are vowing to toughen safety measures during the Loy Krathong festival this Sunday by reducing accidents caused by fireworks, celebrations and public transport. The new measures include controlling the number of floating lanterns near airports, barring boats from running in the Saen Sap canal after 6pm on Sunday, and restricting the number of people on each pier to 40.
The festival is believed to date back to the Sukhothai period, about 700 years ago. Festival goers seek forgiveness from the water spirits for any wrongdoings against the nature. These days, revelers often float away their misfortune and negative thoughts along with their krathong.
