Thailand approves 2.9-million-USD budget for Songkran celebrations in 2024
Thailand’s Cabinet has approved a special budget of 104.87 million THB (more than 2.9 million USD) for holding the “Maha Songkran World Water Festival” in Bangkok and some key provinces in mid-April.
The 2024 Maha Songkran World Water Festival runs from April 11-15. (Photo: The Nation)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Cabinet has approved a special budgetof 104.87 million THB (more than 2.9 million USD) for holding the “MahaSongkran World Water Festival” in Bangkok and some key provinces in mid-April.
The festival is expected help Thailand become one of the top 10nations with the best festivals that capture t༺he interest of both Thais andforeigners.
On December 6, 2023, UNESCO inscribed"Songkran in Thailand, Traditional Thai New Year Festival" on itsRepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Thisrecognition highlights the significance of Songkran as a cultural practice thattranscends mere celebration and embodies important social values and traditions. This year’s Songkran celebration will runfrom April 11-15, however, welcoming activities will kick off on April 1. During the festival, celebrants can also joinalmsgiving to Buddhist monks and perform the traditional pouring of water onthe hands of the elderly and on Buddha images. The Ministry of Tourism expects the Songkran festival to attract more than 200,000 people and generatesome 3.13 billion THB in revenue. In addition to activities during the mega festival, Thailand will also implement many policies such as visa exemption, value-added tax refund, new healthinsurance programmes for international visitors with the highest payment up to1 million THB in an attempt to attract about 35 million international visitorsthis year. Fromthe beginning of the year until February 18, Thailand welcomed morethan 5.2 million international visitors, an increase of 49% over the sameperiod last year./.
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The 2024 Maha Songkran World Water Festival runs from April 11-15. (Photo: The Nation) 
