CHIANG MAI- More than 30,000 tourists a day are expected to stream into Chiang Mai during the seven-day New Year festival, injecting about 2.5 billion baht into the local economy.
Pornchai Jitnavasathien, chairman of the Chiang Mai Tourist Industry Council, warned on Thursday that people intending to holiday in the northern provincel who do not already have booked accommodation should check in advance on the availability of rooms.
About 90% of rooms have already been booked by foreigners, he said. On average, around 30,000 tourists, both Thai and foreign, were expected to arrive in Chiang Mai each day during the holiday. They were expected to spend about 400 million baht per day, or about 2.5 billion throughout the period.
As for the government's tourism and shopping tax-breaks, Mr Pornchai believed the tourist sector would get only a 15% share of the spending, because visitors were likely to spend more on shopping for souvenirs than on tours.
Nipon Wichairat, director of the Chiang Mai Zoo, said from Dec 31 to Jan 3 the zoo will offer admission discounts of 20% to 50% for holders of student ID cards and state officials and their travellling companions.
The Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has waived park entrance fees for Thai tourists, but not foreigners, over the New Year, so admission to two national parks in Chiang Mai will be free - Doi Suthep and Doi Pui.