The upcoming Songkran holiday will usher in a nationwide exodus, with hundreds of thousands of people heading back to their hometowns. This is a golden opportunity for tourism business operators to cash in on the celebrations, which would typically involve water-splashing on the streets.
That said, the government -- still concerned about the possibility of another disruptive Covid-19 outbreak -- recently rejected a petition to allow Songkran celebrations to take place, even under strict disease-control guidelines. As such, the nation is set to miss out on the billions of baht of tourism cash that would have helped accelerate Thailand's post-pandemic recovery.
