The death of the Songkran water festival

Thailand’s New Year Songkran is very close. However, like last year, the streets of the Golden Temple will not have crowds playing, splashing water on each other due to the Covid-19 translation.
The Thai government has canceled all public events related to the Songkran festival to prevent people from gathering and partying. This festival’s tradition of splashing water on each other is also believed to spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to the report. Nikkei Asia.

“People will carefully celebrate Songkran at home,” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced on April 6. He asserted that the regulations of a state of emergency still apply in response to the Covid-19 epidemic. All provincial governors are allowed to enact more stringent anti-epidemic measures if necessary. So, one year from now, the streets of Thailand will be free from laughing crowds, water gun fights from locals and tourists. Thailand attracts thousands of foreign visitors each year thanks to the Songkran water festival. Photo: Reuters. Songkran Festival usually starts on April 13 every year and takes place for 2 days. This year, the Thai government approved an additional day off on April 12 to give Thais a week-long vacation, to encourage people to travel, boosting the economy. However, the back outbreak of the epidemic destroyed the opportunity to revive the economy of the Golden Temple during the festival. Economic impact The Tourism Authority of Thailand predicts a rebound of the disease could cause tourists to reduce spending during the Songkran festival by 2.4 billion baht ($ 75 million). Many tourists have canceled their schedule to Thailand and checked out the hotel. “About 20% of the number of pre-booked rooms in major cities like Phuket, Pattaya and Hua Hin has been canceled,” said Pisoot Saekool, president of the Thai Hotel Association. The Thai Hotel Association and the Tourism Authority expect tourist spending on Songkran to drop to 9.6 billion baht, down from an earlier prediction of around 12 billion baht. Although more than 300,000 Thai people have been vaccinated with Covid-19, outbreaks are still popping up in Bangkok and can spread across the country during the Songkran holiday as many return home. As of April 7, Thailand had a total of 29,905 Covid-19 cases. Of which, 28,069 people recovered, 95 died. Many pubs and restaurants in big cities have to close temporarily to maintain social distance. This year, Khao San Road, a famous place to attract foreign visitors during the water splash festival, will no longer have crowds playing around, splashing water on each other. Photo: Akira Kodaka. At the upcoming festival, the Thai Covid-19 Situation Management Center (CCSA) only allows traditional activities such as pouring perfume on a Buddha statue. However, this operation should also be carried out at a distance of at least 1.5 m. With no public events and celebrations left, spending by locals on Songkran is also expected to drop significantly. A poll conducted by the Thai Chamber of Commerce University shows that this year’s Songkran will be less noisy as more Thais plan to stay at home. Holiday spending is expected to fall below 100 billion baht ($ 3.1 billion). This figure is still better than the Songkran festival in 2020, but much lower than the annual average of more than 135 billion baht. Khao San Road, a popular place to attract foreign visitors during the water festival, is also said to be very quiet as no public events are allowed, meaning the sales are bleak. business in this area. Sa-nga Ruangwattanakul, president of the Khao San Road Business Association, said the number of tourists is expected to plummet this year as fun activities such as splashing water and powder on each other are prohibited. “Before the Covid-19 pandemic, our revenue during the Songkran season was about 100 million baht per day. This year, however, I think it was only about 10 million baht,” Ruangwattanakul said.