Thailand planning countdown event with Lalisa, Andrea Bocelli

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is aiming to nab celebrity opera singer Andrea Bocelli and Thai-born K-Pop superstar Lalisa for a New Year’s Eve celebration after Thailand’s reopening. The plan is still pending but after PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced a November 1 reopening, the TAT aims to put Thailand front and centre in global tourism interest again in part with a high-profile New Year’s Eve countdown event this year.

Lalisa recently topped Taylor Swift to be certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as having the most-viewed YouTube music video by a solo artist in 24 hours. A Buri Ram native who caused a meatball mania in her hometown, the Federation of Thai Industries recently reached out to her South Korean record label to urge her the be a tourism ambassador for Thailand.

Phuket is on the TAT’s shortlist for locations to host this celebration, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn saying they are pushing Phuket as a “World Class Destination”, so bringing a world-class Italian opera superstar like Bocelli is fitting. The Centre for Economic Situation Administration approved the Phuket promotion plan earlier this month.

The plan for a celebration with global superstars will take a lot of money, but with a worldwide fanbase of over 20 million people, Thai officials say the investment is worthwhile. The financing would likely come from government budget money as well as investment from the private sector.

The TAT governor said aside from the star-studded New Year’s Eve celebration, they are urging the CCSA to remove the frustrating and complex certificate of entry requirement that has driven away many potential tourists from the reopening, as well as finding a way to push RT-PCR tests to under 1,000 baht as Covid-19 testing is one of the biggest costs for international travellers.

Thailand was recently singled out in a news report in the United Kingdom as the single most difficult entry process of any country that has reopened since Covid-19 caused a global travel shutdown.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post