Overview
- Citywide water fights are underway across Bangkok as officials press on with the three‑day New Year festival despite a fuel crunch linked in reporting to the US‑Israeli war on Iran that has pushed up costs for petrol and even ice.
- Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport expects about 1.8 million arriving passengers over the festival window, with roughly 11,000 flights scheduled and a small year‑on‑year dip in arrivals alongside a 4.6 percent rise in flights.
- Tourist hubs such as Khao San Road, Silom and major shopping centers are staging splash parties and music events that draw visitors steered by social media posts.
- Scholars and environmental advocates flag heavy water use and festival trash, and locals remind visitors to avoid soaking monks or elders and not to spray water into faces.
- UNESCO added Songkran to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2023 for rituals like home and temple cleaning and pouring scented water over Buddha images and elders, a tradition also observed across the Mekong region.