The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has forecast that the number of tourists during this year’s Songkran festival from April 12-16 will drop by 10 percent partly due to the northern haze problems (Photo: thainews.prd.go.th)

Bangkok (VNA)- The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has forecast that the number oftourists during this year’s Songkran festival from April 12-16 will drop by 10percent partly due to the northern haze problems. 

TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said tourist groups are expected to adjust theirtravel plans and choose 🌼to travel to other areas𒀰 in Thailand instead. 

He expected overallhotel occupancy rate in the northern region during Songkran to be around 75 percent.Hotels in areas affected by wildfires, such as Mae Rim, Chiang Dao and Fangdistricts of Chiang Mai province may have reservation rates under 50 percent.Hotels in Mae Hong Son province may face the worst booking rate at under 30 percent,making some hotels opt to close down for renovations. 

Due to the fallout fromthe downturn in the three northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and MaeHong Son, TAT expects tourism revenue during this year’s Songkran to reduce by 2billion THB, Yuthasak said.

Previously, the TAT haspredicted that the number of Thai tourists travelling during the Songkranfestival at 3.11 million people and some 546,000 foreign visitors, generating a10 percent increase in revenue, valued at 20.98 billion THB. 

President of the ThaiHotel Association (THA) Supawan Tanomkieatipume said that the rate of hotelbookings throughout the country during Songkran was not good yet. 

At present, Chiang Maihas only a 60 percent reservation level after being affected by haze problems.Bangkok and Pattaya have similar bookings at 60 percent. The southern regionhas 70-80 percent bookings. 

A key cause of the lowreservation rate is the global economic slowdown, which has yet to recover, shesaid. 

Vichit Prakobgosol, Presidentof the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), said that although the levelof bookings of foreign tourists this Songkran was not comparable with lastyear, the reduction of tourist figures this year was not drastic. Due to thesmog problem in the northern region, Chinese tourists, who usually visit ChiangMai in large numbers during Songkran, may change their travel destinations toother countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia. 

On the other hand, theappreciation of the baht will lead to more Thais travelling abroad duringSongkran, Yuthasak said. 

Airports of Thailand Plc(AOT) reported that during this year’s Songkran period, an average of 40,000Thais would travel abroad every day. 

As this year has twoconsecutive holidays – Chakri Memorial Day and the Songkran break – Thai peopleare more likely to make plans to travel for up to 10 days from April 6 to 15.This long holiday season makes Japan the most popular destination for Thais,followed by Europe. 

During this period, upto 300,000 Thai people are expected to travel abroad, with a total spending of 9billion THB.

Songkran is Thailand’s mostfamous festival. An important event on the Buddhi💛st calendar, this waterfesti𒐪val marks the beginning of the traditional Thai New Year. The nameSongkran comes from a Sanskrit word meaning ‘passing’ or ‘approaching’.-VNA