Chiang Mai province in the North will organize
its annual flower festival, which attracts both Thai and international tourists
each year.
The Chiang Mai Flower Festival 2014 will take
place at the foot of the Nawarat Bridge, along Tha Phae Road, and at the Suan
Buak Hat Park in Mueang district from 7 to 9 February.
The three-day festival, the 38th of its kind,
will focus on the theme “Blooming Flowers, Crops of ASEAN.” The opening
ceremony will be held on 8 February, when visitors will see beautiful Thai
orchids displayed at the venue.
Major activities include a parade of elaborately
decorated floral floats, a bazaar of local products, a food fair, contests of
plants and flowers and mini-garden landscaping, and musical shows.
The Governor of the Tourism Authority of
Thailand (TAT), Mr. Thawatchai Arunyik, said that Chiang Mai is often known as
the Rose of the North. The province is a cultural and natural wonderland with
ethnic diversity, a multitude of attractions, and welcoming hospitality. It
lives up to its name with the annual Flower Festival, an event that showcases
beautiful and exotic flowers, which are in full bloom toward the end of the
cool season in early February.
He said that the flower festival would turn the
Suan Buak Hat Park into an open-air exhibition venue where local and
international visitors could marvel at a magnificent tapestry of floral
splendor that blankets the land. Elsewhere in the city, beautiful displays of
various kinds of blooming flowers can also be found, including the Damask Rose,
a variety found only in Chiang Mai province.
More regional flights were recently launched
between Chiang Mai and several Chinese cities. The province is also connected
domestically, with daily direct flight services from major cities in Thailand,
such as Bangkok, Phuket, Hat Yai, and Krabi. It is also a convenient jumping
off point to neighboring northern provinces, including Chiang Rai and Mae Hong
Son.
Recognized as a regional aviation hub for the
Greater Mekong Subregion, Chiang Mai has formed a committee to study the
possibility of building its second airport to cope with the expected growing
number of visitors. The Chiang Mai International Airport normally accommodates
110-120 flights a day. During the tourism season, the number will increase to
130.
A survey conducted by TAT shows that Chiang Mai
is the most popular tourism destination among travelers. The survey was conducted
between 21 and 28 November 2013 among 2,000 respondents in six provinces,
namely Bangkok, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Songkhla, Kanchanaburi, and Nakhon
Ratchasima. The top five provinces in their list include Chiang Mai Chon Buri,
Rayong, Loei, and Phuket.
(thailand.prd.go.th)