Thailand Ministry of Health reports 25,804 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 80 deaths since yesterday. The ministry also announced an additional 18,801 patients recovered from the COVID-19 virus.
Khao San Business operators have objected to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s ban on water splashing. They said that this would have a negative impact on their income expected from the peak season.
The CCSA decided that the annual celebrations may proceed provided there is no alcohol during the events. They also encouraged people to continue to celebrate traditional activities minus the water splashing.
Sanga Ruangwattanakul, president of the Khao San Business Association said that water splashing should not be banned. “If the government wants to ease measures to allow Songkran festivities to be held, it must not prohibit water splashing.”
If you remove the trademark element, “tourists would have no idea why they should visit,” he said.
He added that the Khao San Road business operators will not likely plan any event for Songkran this year. They are also planning to submit a proposal to review the decision of the water ban.
Many businesses are looking forward to the festival hoping to boost income after two years of shutting down. The recent surge in cases has also caused many tourists not to travel to the country. Mr. Sanga added that the hotel bookings only increased by 20% despite the reopening of the country.
A number of nighttime venues like pubs and bars have changed their operations to a restaurant to comply with the measures. This has somehow revived their business.
“If the Songkran festival is banned, we could lose many tourists to other ASEAN countries,” he added. April and May are the peak seasons for tourist travels and Songkran is among the main attraction of the country.