As Thailand moves to position itself as a global festival destination, tourism leaders are placing renewed focus on a powerful yet often under-valued asset – the influencer.
Speaking at one of the Spark Thai Festivals: Local to Global sessions hosted by the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau during the Splash Soft Power 2025 forum, Thailand’s marketing experts and event creators agreed that travel influencers are co-creators shaping Thailand’s soft power economy.
Pawat Ruangdejworachai, president and CEO of MI Group, said: “Influencers aren’t just reviewers – they’re cultural curators with loyal communities. If we match them with the right festival DNA, they become co-creators (that shape) perceptions and attracting new traveller segments.”
Pawat cited successful case studies such as Tourism Authority of Thailand’s #AmazingSongkran campaign, which mobilised hundreds of global micro-influencers to drive attendance, or niche festivals like Cat Expo, which in recent years saw growing traction among Japanese and South Korean fan bases thanks to regional creator collaborations.
Adapter Digital’s head of media and performance, Krit Krityayarn, emphasised that authenticity trumps scripting. Influencers should be allowed to “be themselves”, as “their distinct voice is what audiences trust”.
Festival design must also align with influencer culture, opined Pongsiri Hetrakul, festival director of Awakening Bangkok, who added that influencers recognise Thailand as a festival nation.
“Thais are natural-born influencers. When we search for ‘Awakening Bangkok’ on social media, one thing that stands out about our light festival compared to those from other cities is that 60 per cent of the results are portraits of people engaging with the festival setup. Thais really immerse – they’ll even lie on the ground next to the event logo just to stage the perfect shot. Their enthusiasm has even led foreign visitors to imitate the behaviour,” he observed.
Delving deeper into user-generated content, Kobkiat Sangwanich, race director of the Amazing Thailand Marathon Bangkok and Ironman 70.3 Bangsaen events, noted that at large-scale events, every participant becomes a micro-influencer.
“At the Amazing Thailand Marathon, a global scale event which draws 50,000 runners per day, every participant becomes a storyteller. That’s soft power in motion,” he remarked.
Kobkiat also stressed that partnerships with the government and NTOs are key in building international participation at local festivals and events.
Meanwhile, Thainchai Pisitwuttinan, CEO and co-founder of Global Sports Ventures and president of the Rajadamnern World Series, highlighted the viral power of “TikTok idol camps” – creator collectives that travel and post together.
“Our Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium works with camps like the Bangsaen Sai Club, which has a combined following of over a million followers. When they all post together about one of our sporting events, it creates a massive buzz,” he stated.
Pongsiri added that influencers also have the power to “drive the culture forward”.
