etween April 13 and 15 with celebrations extending well beyond those dates, this year looks a bit different with unprecedented headwinds. A festival economy under pressure  According to a survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Songkran’s spending is projected at 129.6 billion baht (US$3.95 billion) this year, down 3.7 per cent year-on-year. If it’s true, it would mark the steepest drop since 2022. Unlike Duy, many participants have been cancelling their plans to join the festival as airfares skyrocketed. The Association of Thai Travel Agents has warned that both domestic and international travel could decline by as much as 20 to 30 per cent during this Songkran. In southern Thailand, the Hatyai-Songkhla Hotels Association reported that hotel bookings for the festival period dropped to around 15,000 confirmed reservations, roughly half the more than 30,000 rooms booked during the same period last year. Chiang Mai, normally the cultural heartbeat of Songkran, is fighting a separate crisis. The city is dealing with severe PM2.5 air pollution on top of travel cost pressures, and hotel occupancy for Songkran is now expected to land at only 50 to 60 per cent, far below previous years when properties were routinely full, according to Nation Thailand.  Responding to changes  Against this backdrop, Central Pattana is committing 500 million baht to host Songkran across 44 of its branches nationwide, featuring more than 1000 events and performances by over 400 artists, with an expected 10 million participants. Central Pattana’s chief marketing officer, Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, said with rising airfares, some Thais who typically travel overseas now choose domestic destinations instead, which is expected to compensate partially for the loss from foreign tourists.  Meanwhile, S2O, the long-running water music festival that Tourism Authority of Thailand lists the week of April 13 at S2O Land Ratchada, has been preparing for the changes. Its founder Vuthithorn Milintachinda has watched warning signs build since January, including quieter shops, thinner restaurant traffic and some businesses closing. He told the Nation Thailand that local attendees are expected to account for more than 60 per cent of S2O’s crowd this year, the first time in five years that Thai participants have outnumbered foreign visitors. Brands go all in Besides Central Pattana’s shopping centres network, other major malls like IconSiam and Siam Square will also host free concerts to lure visitors. Brands are also gearing up for Songkran. KFC Thailand has partnered with Thai footwear brand Nanyang to launch a limited-edition “Colonel Riding Elephant” flip-flop, built for grip and comfort on soaked pavement, and tied redemption directly to meal bundles. To generate attention, KFC installed an oversized inflatable Colonel Sanders at Bangkok’s Elephant Tower, social bait designed to stop crowds mid-water fight, and gave away 2000 pairs at Silom Road, one of the city’s busiest Songkran hotspots. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Loewe has entered Songkran for the first time as a luxury brand, building a campaign around the festival with Thai ambassadors Baifern (Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul) and Tay (Tawan Vihokratana), alongside a Thailand-exclusive Dok Khoon leather charm tied to the spring Paula’s Ibiza collection. Local streetwear brand Iwannabangkok is running its “Wet” series, including quick-dry tees, tanks, and long sleeves built for getting fully drenched. On April 13, the brand will take it offline with a free-entry Songkran party at its flagship, converting the store into a festival venue and keeping the brand embedded in the street-level experience where Songkran actually lives. What to expect? Think back to Duy’s group chat. More friends joining, not fewer even with the airfare. That instinct, to show up anyway, to find a way to make the trip work, is perhaps the most underrated commercial force in Thailand’s festival economy right now. With high airfares pushing Thais who would normally travel overseas back into the domestic market, the redirected spending has to land somewhere. Malls with 400 artists across 44 branches, free concerts at IconSiam, and street parties at local flagships are making sure it lands with them. Duy and his friends are still coming and they are bringing more people with them. For retailers who built their Songkran around the crowd that actually shows up rather than the one from a rosier forecast, that is more than enough to work with. Further reading: How retailers celebrated Thailand’s Songkran water festival.