With the Year of the Horse expected to see less travel and spending than usual and tourism crippled by unrest and violence, Thai tourism is taking a chance on love.
There may not be a lot of Thai tradition underpinning Saint Valentine’s Day, but neither does today’s ritual of chocolate and flowers have particularly deep roots in Western custom.
With little to be done to change the minds of international travelers, the Tourism Authority of Thailand will seek to stoke the fires of passion – and domestic tourism – by promoting Valentine’s Day events throughout Thailand.
Activities will include holiday trips into the south, an underwater wedding festival and elephant-themed wedding trips in provinces throughout the kingdom.
In Trang, the 18th annual underwater wedding festival will be held Feb. 10 to Feb. 12. Thirty couples are currently registered to participate.
At Suvarnabhumi Airport, the authority will operate a souvenir and photo booth for couples during February.
One source of international revenue that hasn’t taken a hit has been that of Indian weddings. Indian couples have purchased 1,285 such wedding packages, and the average Indian wedding puts out about THB10 million, NNT reported.
Photo: Underwaterwedding.com
