The Songkran festival this year is expected to generate 26.5 billion baht from 476,000 international tourists and 4.4 million domestic trips, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said the revenue from international markets from April 12-16 is projected to grow by 7% year-on-year to 7.3 billion baht, while domestic receipts should reach 19.2 billion baht, up 9%.
Overall income is anticipated to grow 8% year-on-year, mainly driven by the Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2025, while the government plans to hold festive events nationwide, said Ms Thapanee.
She said arrivals from mainland China and Hong Kong were expected to decline by 34% and 28% year-on-year, respectively, due to reduced confidence about safety following the widespread publicity given to scam centres preying on Chinese people.
The number of European tourists should increase by 23% as the festival falls around the same time as Easter, said Ms Thapanee. Forward air ticket bookings are up by 17% so far, mainly attributed to flights from the UK, Germany and Israel.
Visits from neighbouring countries via land crossings should remain robust, as the Southeast Asian market is forecast to grow by 7% year-on-year to 160,800 tourists during the holiday period, according to the TAT, with Malaysia claiming the largest volume with 81,000 visitors, generating 637 million baht.
Though Chinese arrivals are projected at only 65,000, earnings from this market are expected to be the highest at 1.2 billion baht, she said.
Earlier this month, the cabinet approved a budget of 153 million baht for the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to hold the Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2025. The budget was slashed from an initial projection of 240 million baht.
The Transport Ministry previously urged local carriers to offer affordable domestic airfare during Songkran, and two low-cost carriers — Thai AirAsia and Thai VietJet — obliged this week and announced fare reductions of 30% from April 11-17 on some of their routes.