Central Pattana (CPN) is investing 400 million baht in its "Thailand's Songkran Festival 2024" campaign, offering more than 1,000 events throughout the campaign.
The campaign is expected to increase tourism by 20 to 30% in the second quarter of this year, said Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, chief marketing officer of CPN.
The campaign aims to "Bring Thainess to The World" and celebrate Songkran as a unique global event that's more than water splashing.
The "Hello Universe!" portion of the campaign introduces Sheynnis Palacios, Miss Universe 2023, as the world's first Songkran ambassador and a global cultural ambassador.
Mr Nattakit said the company wants to serve as a platform to promote Songkran around the world, becoming a top 10 global festival.
"We expect Sheynnis Palacios to convey the 'Best of Thainess' to people worldwide," he said. "We look forward to welcoming everyone to experience the fun and exciting activities during Songkran at Central malls nationwide."
Mr Nattakit said Songkran integrates the beauty of local culture and traditions for each region.
"Central shopping centres nationwide are ready to serve as a global 'culturetainment' landmark that welcomes both Thai and foreign tourists from around the world. We are committed to creating a mega tourism boosting sensation to help drive forward the Thai economy and tourism during the peak season," he said.
Mr Nattakit said CPN will be bringing the spotlight to both major and secondary cities nationwide by hosting more than 1,000 events across Central shopping centres. "It is expected that customer traffic will increase by 20 to 30%."
Based on the latest forecasts by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), roughly 8 million -10 million visitors, both Thais and foreigners, are expected during the Songkran festival which runs from April 1 to 21, generating a revenue turnover of 50 billion to 80 billion baht.
Mr Nattakit said to attract tourists from around the world, Central Pattana has also curated world-class shopping experiences that international tourists are looking for.
"We are joining hands with popular travel platforms, such as Klook, Trip.com Group, KK Day, Go City, Thai Airways, AirAsia and more than 10 airlines, as well as launching special promotions together with international banks such as JCB, UnionPay and UOB, and supporting e-wallets from more than 10 countries around the world such as Wechat Pay, Alipay and Alipay+."
Central Pattana will also be holding both international and local events and is joining hands for the first time with Lemon8, an application that creates communities for the younger generation. It allows creators and everyone to create lifestyle content, reinforcing promotional efforts to reach people of all generations.
