Songkran runs amid tourism slowdown

Bangkok’s Silom Road is staging three days of Songkran parades, concerts and ritual Buddha bathing even as Thailand heads into the holiday with a weaker tourism outlook. (nationthailand.com) The Silom program runs April 12-14 from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., with road closures between Sala Daeng and Nararom intersections, long-drum processions, free concerts and a floral float for pouring water over a Buddha image. Bangkok officials and organizers also expanded the event to three full days this year as part of a push to market the capital as a global festival destination. (nationthailand.com 1) (nationthailand.com 2) The Tourism Authority of Thailand is also running the Maha Songkran World Water Festival in Bangkok and, on April 8, said it was recalibrating its 2026 strategy toward “value over volume” rather than chasing arrival records. The agency said it would lean harder on higher-spending segments, wider source markets and longer-term competitiveness. (tatnews.org) That shift follows weaker numbers at the start of the second quarter. Kasikorn Research Center said foreign arrivals from April 1-5 totaled about 430,000, down 2.4% from a year earlier, and projected a 9.2% year-on-year drop for all of April-June. (nationthailand.com) Kasikorn said the pressure is coming from the Middle East crisis, higher oil prices and more expensive airfares, which are raising the cost of long-haul travel to Thailand. The research house said those risks are hitting just after what it called a short-lived recovery in inbound demand. (nationthailand.com) Thailand entered 2026 from a softer base than officials had hoped. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports said the country received 32,974,321 foreign visitors in 2025, down 7.23% from 2024, while revenue from international tourists fell 4.71% to 1.536 trillion baht. (nationthailand.com) (bangkokpost.com) Broader economic forecasts have also been cut in April. The World Bank lowered Thailand’s 2026 growth forecast to 1.3%, and the Asian Development Bank said growth would slow further this year as weak domestic demand, softer tourism and higher energy prices weigh on the economy. (nationthailand.com) (adb.org) For now, the contrast is visible on Silom itself: one of Bangkok’s biggest water-fight streets is packed for New Year celebrations while tourism planners brace for a leaner second quarter. (nationthailand.com 1) (nationthailand.com 2)