As Thailand eyes its evolution into a global festival nation, event leaders are urging a fundamental rethink: move beyond importing big-name acts and instead build soft power from within.
Speaking at the Spark Thai Festivals: Local to Global sessions during Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s Splash Soft Power 2025 forum, top organisers and media executives called for stronger support for home-grown events, noting their potential to deliver long-term economic returns, highlight Thai creativity, and raise the country’s international profile.
“There’s competition from destinations like Singapore and Japan,” said Pongsiri Hetrakul, festival director of Awakening Bangkok. “That makes it essential to define what makes Thailand’s festivals truly worth the trip.”
Pongsiri warned that importing international acts like Taylor Swift or Tomorrowland may boost arrivals, but delivers limited cultural value in the long run.
“They reap the profit, they own the brand – we get the tourists,” he added, explaining that such approaches do little to build authentic Thai soft power.
“We need to optimise our festival nation vision first. Our organisers are excellent, but very few events originate here and are exported.”
Kobkiat Sangwanich, director of the Amazing Thailand Marathon Bangkok and Ironman 70.3 Bangsaen races, underlined the economic ripple effect of festivals.
“Spending increases tenfold on accommodation, food and more. All Thai festivals have the potential to go international – we have creativity and momentum on our side,” he said.
Leveraging Thailand’s central location is also key.
“Thailand is already a hub. When there’s an event, people are ready to come – and extend their trip to the beach or the mountains,” added Thainchai Phisitwuttinan, CEO of Global Sports Ventures and president of the Rajadamnern World Series.
Nakarin Wanakijpaibul, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Standard, pointed to the growing demand for regional and niche experiences.
“(Festival attendance has grown) 1.5x faster over the last decade, and people are willing to pay more when there’s an experience attached. We’re seeing the rise of yoga festivals, tea festivals – everything’s becoming more targeted. That opens the door for targeting premium travellers in secondary destinations,” he commented.
Nakarin highlighted Isan as an untapped opportunity.
“Isan locals with money still want to spend, but they don’t want to come to Bangkok for everything. That’s why we’re taking our next Secret Sauce Summit to Isan,” he said.
While decentralisation is promising, Nakarin emphasised that Thailand’s infrastructure and policy support must catch up.
“The weaknesses we face are the three S’s: systems, stability, and support. Legal frameworks need reform, infrastructure must be upgraded, and without political continuity, festivals won’t survive. Events take five years to become profitable. If we want world-class events, we must commit long-term,” he stated.
He called for collaborative planning: “Stakeholders must unite to set five-year goals and ask for the right kind of support from the government. Supporting home-grown is more sustainable.”
“Without systemic change, in five to ten years, we’ll be just an event organiser for hire – without festivals of our own,” Nakarin warned.
Thainchai, a key player in the revival of Rajadamnern Stadium, stressed that cultivating Thai-led content is the way forward: “We’ve transformed Rajadamnern into a sportainment hub, with 80 to 90 per cent of the audience now being foreigners. Home-grown is essential. If we want to be the NFL or NBA of Thailand, we have to build from within. That’s how we become a real festival nation.”
