Ready for another holiday? Cabinet considers a long weekend to boost the economy
There might be another long weekend coming up soon. So much revenue was brought in from the recent 4 day holiday weekend earlier this month that some government officials think another couple days off could help give the slumped economy another shot in the arm.
The 4 day weekend earlier this month (a Songkran replacement) circulated some 8.8 billion baht in revenue, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. They say they met their revenue goal for the weekend. September 4 and 7 were scheduled as public holidays to substitute Songkran after the annual Thai new year water celebrations were cancelled in April due to lockdown measures.
Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam says the cabinet has talked about another holiday, most likely a 4 day long weekend again, and the idea has been passed on to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Wissanu says the long weekend might be scheduled for November, since there are no public holidays scheduled during that month.
“The idea is for people to take a break and travel.”
Other parties need to be on board for the long weekend. The Bangkok Post says the Tourism and Sports Ministry will need to make the recommendation for another long weekend. Police are also needed to help with traffic. There were 405 road incidents during the long weekend earlier this month. Police report 59 people were killed in road incidents and 365 people were injured.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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