Local and international tourists planning to set off on a journey in the Kingdom are invited to get a taste of the country's delights during the "Thailand Tourism Festival 2017", which will kick off Wednesday and run until Sunday at Lumpini Park, Rama IV.
Organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the five-day event will showcase the unique local experiences and provide an insight into some of the fascinating attractions from every part of the country.
Highlighting "Thainess", the festival is divided into 10 zones, each of which is packed with demonstrations of local culture and cuisine. The first zone "Botanical Gardens" will see a floral display that pays tribute to King Bhumibol and an exhibition that follows his royal routes to the development projects he had initiated to help the Thai people.
The second zone is presented in an interesting concept -- featuring recreations of five villages representing each region of Thailand as well as replicas of each region's landmarks. The Northern village will teach about local hill tribes and feature Doi Tung coffee shop and produce from the Royal Projects. The Northeastern village will display a replica of Phra That Phanom temple and the Central village will come with recreations of famous markets and traditional houses as well as local delicacies.
Visitors will witness a variety of attractions and shop for local food products and Chanthaburi's famous gems at the Eastern village, and discover a coastal town famous for seafood and curries and a local market at the Southern village.
Foodies will enjoy culinary delights from all five regions and 50 areas of Bangkok in the third zone while the fourth zone will present travel information and updates on TAT's activities and tourism campaigns. A range of food trucks, Otop products and goods from the Royal Projects will also be available there.
TAT also recommends fun tourist routes and travel packages in the fifth zone while the sixth zone will gather a variety of adventurous activities for outdoor enthusiasts such as rock climbing, paintball and net climbing.
Taking turns to perform on the main stage in the seventh zone will be leading acts such as Body Slam, Joey Boy, Keng Thachaya, The Palace and Friend, Anchalee Jongkadeekit, The Sound of Siam, Vie Trio and Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band. Thai traditional dances and Chinese cultural performances also will be staged there.
As this festival coincides with the Chinese New Year, the eighth zone will feature the atmosphere of the celebrations and present a variety of themed activities. The ninth zone will look more serious with a geological park featuring dinosaur exhibits and a visual tour to explore many discoveries made in the Kingdom. The last zone will be a perfect venue to take selfies with TAT's mascot Nong Sukjai with decorative styles of the 77 provinces as backdrops.
The festival will run daily from 2-10pm. There is no admission fee. Visit www.tourismthailand.org or call 1672.
