At a press conference held in Bangkok last Friday (July 1), Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan confirmed that B177 million has been allocated for the project, which is expected to generate more than 10-fold in revenue.
The festival will be held in the southern provinces of Phuket, Songkhla, Satun, Phatthalung, Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani. Sports to be contested include surfing, jet skiing, beach volleyball, football, pencak silat, triathlon, motorcross, adventure racing and e-sports, among others.
Kongsak Yodmanee, Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), confirmed that his organisation contributed the majority of the budget to fund the project and it had been liaising closely with the seven local authorities to plan the event in line with international competition standards.
Mr Kongsak also confirmed that the festival will provide each province opportunity to showcase locally sourced and made products and speciality cuisine and beverages while promoting local customs and traditions which will help generate revenue and stimulate the respective economies.
Mr Pipat explained that the festival was in line with a national sports tourism strategy established by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to help drive the economies of provinces around the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand who have been so badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent loss of tourism.
Dr Supranee Guptasa, National Sports Development Fund Manager, said that sports has a unique way of connecting people and that the festival should therefore prove to be successful. It will ensure revenue is generated from travel, accommodation, food and beverage which will benefit the seven local provinces accordingly, she added.
The festival will be promoted by the Tourism Authority Thailand although, at time of press, no specific dates had been set for when it will take place.