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Published on April 3, 2008

They believe the number of people leaving Bangkok for the holiday will drop because of high fuel prices.

CentralWorld, in cooperation with CM Organiser, is planning what is called "Splashy Songkran Fest @ CentralWorld". The Bt25-million event from April 12-14 will be aimed at attracting an additional 200,000 visitors, 40 per cent of whom are expected to be foreigners.

Visitors to CentralWorld normally reach 100,000 per day on weekdays and up to 120,000 per day on weekends.

"There are many Bangkokians who will not travel upcountry this year, largely because high petrol prices have made trips more costly," said Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president for marketing at Central Pattana, operator of CentralWorld.

However, many upmarket consumers will still go abroad for the Songkran holidays, because foreign travel has become cheaper from the appreciation of the baht, he said. Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Macau are popular destinations.

Nattakit said Central hoped its cultural event for Songkran would offer city residents an alternative to other top venues, such as Khao San Road, which is popular among foreign visitors.

Seacon Square marketing manager Suthisa Pumpradon said more people would visit the complex during Songkran instead of go upcountry, because of high oil prices and the fact that consumer confidence remained weak.

"Bangkokians are still quite cautious about their spending, so they can be expected to avoid long trips upcountry, in order to save money," Suthisa said.

The economic conditions have given Bangkok's shopping malls an opportunity to provide activities featuring some Songkran traditions, such as pouring water onto Buddha statues.

Seacon Square's holiday event is called "Songkran Lan-Boon" and will be held from April 10-15, during which visitors are expected to increase more than 5 per cent over previous years.

Siam Piwat, operator of Siam Centre and Siam Discovery Centre, will also stage a major campaign to stimulate consumer spending.

Assistant managing director Mayuree Chaipromprasith said the campaign, called "Siam Centre Splash Festival 2008", would cost Bt25 million and boost shoppers' spending 20 per cent, mainly on the part of tourists and upcountry residents visiting Bangkok during the holiday period.

"Blue-collar workers usually go upcountry to their home towns during the long holidays. But white-collar workers have more choices, so they prefer not to go outside Bangkok to popular destinations, in order to avoid heavy traffic," Mayuree said.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation