At ‘Tong Chom Marketplace Songkran 2023’, organised by the Division of Internal Trade, there will be a celebration at Khaem Khong Marketplace, the longest walking street market place, from April 12-16. The walking street runs alongside the Mekong River in Nong Khai province.
The Commerce Ministry has vowed to ramp up Tong Chom (should-see) markets nationwide this year to stimulate the grassroots economy, with the aim of creating income of 1.9 billion baht this year.
According to Goranij Nonejuie, deputy director-basic of the Internal Trade Division, his division is scheduled to hold year-round events nationwide to highlight regional goods, music shows, folk songs, cultural performances, street art and other activities that showcase every single community’s distinctive identity.
He stated neighborhood items, cultural performances and textiles are deemed to be a kind of soft energy that reflects every single community’s selection and can create earnings for the regional economy.
The Tong Chom market place scheme was introduced in 2016 to showcase the distinctive cultural identities of many communities and their items and to market hyperlinks in between neighborhood markets and tourism, growing the earnings of locals, neighborhood enterprises and smaller and medium-sized organizations.
At the moment, there are 238 Tong Chom market place places all through the nation, like six in Bangkok, 76 in the Central area, 58 in the North, 42 in the South and 56 in the Northeast.
Among 2017 and 2022, Tong Chom markets generated eight.37 billion baht in income. Nonetheless, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, income dropped from 1.9 billion baht in 2020 to 902 million baht in 2021, just before increasing to 1.39 billion baht final year.
Tong Chom markets are organised on Saturdays, Sundays and through lengthy vacation festivals. The division has also disseminated facts about the scheme through its DIT GO Line Official and Facebook pages.
To enhance the grassroots economy and tourism, the division has invited people today to pay a visit to the Tong Chom Marketplace Songkran 2023 by DIT at Nong Khai through the Songkran festival (April 12-16).
The market place, identified as Khaem Khong Marketplace, is situated on Nong Khai’s walking street, which covers a distance of 1.five kilometres alongside the Mekong River, creating it the longest walking street market place in the globe.
According to Mr Goranij, there will be many activities such as sales of regional goods, music shows, cultural performances, a water splashing celebration and a fireworks show.
Guests can also spend their respects to sacred Buddha statues and relics, as nicely as statues of the King of Nagas even though providing meals to 99 monks alongside the Mekong River. This will make this certain spot a new landmark in the nation and an annual occasion that people today will come to know and appear forward to, stated Mr Goranij.
Equivalent activities will also be held in more than 200 Tong Chom markets nationwide.
All through the year, there will be promotions that highlight the distinctive options of every single market place.