Thais traveling oversea to drop during Songkran festival

BANGKOK, March 25 (TNA) - Thai people are expected to celebrate the upcoming Songkran festival, Thailand’s traditional New Year, by travelling in the country rather than spending the long holidays abroad after many of them have spent a lot of money on repairing homes and cars which were damaged following flood disaster late last year, said tourism experts on Saturday. The expected sharp drop in Thais travelling oversea during the festival which starts from April 13-16 is likely to cause the number of Chinese travelers visiting Thailand during the period to decline about half. Mayarut Pirayankoset, president of domestic tourism business association, said bookings of package tour and hotel during this year’s Songkran festival stand at the average of 70 per cent which is quite satisfactory. Most Thais are very cautious in spending, she said. Many people spent money cautiously during the first quarter this year on repairing their homes and cars which were damaged by massive flood. Also, the festival has been less colourful during the past five years due to political turbulence in the country while the ongoing haze pollution in the North is not posing a major problem for tourism business, she said. Meanwhile, Sitthivaj Cheevaratanaporn, president of the association of Thai tourism business, said normally Chinese tourists would book about 100 chartered flights to Thailand during the festival. But about 50 chartered flights have been booked by Chinese tourists so far during the festival due to the expected significant decline in Thais travelling abroad this year, he added. (TNA)