As Thailand’s tourist tsars seem hellbent on weaponising Songkran as an annual tourist money spinner, the extended Songkran holiday has certainly generated at least 500 million baht in revenue for Bangkok’s Khao San Road.
Thai PBS World reports that the festivities between April 12 and 15 brought between 500 and 600 million baht to businesses on the popular tourist thoroughfare. The president of the Khaosan Road Business Association says the increase in revenue this year is a direct result of the increase in foreign tourists.
Sanga Ruangwattanakul adds that events organised by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration on both Khao San and Sanam Luang also helped to boost revenue.
According to the report, there were around 600 street vendors on Khao San Road alone over the course of the holiday. It’s estimated that over the 4 days, Khao San welcomed a total of 400,000 people to enjoy water play, music, and dancing.
Atthaporn Wongsiripreeda of the Royal Thai Police says that on the last night of the holiday, the number of revellers between the hours of 6pm and 10.30pm was around 90,000, with that figure increasing as it got later.
It’s understood that from midnight, officers prevented any more people from entering the road, to prevent dangerous overcrowding.
And now the cleanup…
A team of more than 30 cleaners from the Phra Nakhon district office has been drafted in to clear plastic bottles, packaging, and other detritus from the road. The road surface has also been sprayed to remove stains caused by the white powder used in water fights.
SOURCE: Thai PBS World
