Embracing diversity, Thailand banks on month-long Pride fest in June to boost tourism and economy
BANGKOK, May 13 — Thailand is set to host the Bangkok Pride Festival 2025 from May 30 to June 30 under the campaign 'The Celebration: Right to Love,' with the highly anticipated Pride Parade taking place on June 1.
The event is part of a nationwide effort to promote diversity, equality and LGBTQ+ tourism, supported by government agencies, local industries and private sector players, The Bangkok Post reported.
'Thailand is an ideal destination for LGBTQ+ tourism.
'We need to make sure Thailand is truly the ideal destination for LGBTQ+ tourists, and not only in Pride Month,' Thapanee Kiatphaibool, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) was quoted as saying in a May 6 news conference.
The festival is reported to be part of the broader 'Amazing Thailand Love Wins Festival' and will feature events in five major tourist destinations – Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Phuket, and Pattaya – and 10 more provinces will also organise Pride-related events at the community level.
One of the key initiatives is the 'Paint the City with My Pride' campaign, spearheaded by the Creative Industry and Soft Power Institute (Cispi) in partnership with the Creative Economy Agency.
'The passage of the Marriage Equality Bill this year inspired Cispi and the Creative Economy Agency to create the 'Paint the City with My Pride' campaign,' Pimjai Leeissaranukul, who is both Cispi president and vice-president of the Federation of Thai Industries, was quoted as saying.
The campaign aims to raise public awareness about gender inclusivity and support the economy, although no specific revenue projections were provided, The Bangkok Post reported.
Collaborations with Thailand's top character designers to create Pride-themed illustrations and products inspired by both traditional and pop culture will also be featured during the festival.
Surapong Suebwonglee, Deputy Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister and chairman of the National Soft Power Development Committee, said the Thai government views diversity as a cornerstone of the country's future economy.
'The economy based on diversity and equality is a driving force for Thailand, especially now when we need a new economic engine to drive growth,' he was quoted as saying.
This year's Pride Festival is expected to attract local and international visitors, strengthening Thailand's reputation as a regional leader in LGBTQ+ rights and tourism.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Sastera perjalanan sebagai satu genre
How TNB is transforming rural communities Tenaga Nasional Berhad's rural electrification programme is improving lives, boosting economies and bridging the digital divide. Batik Air launches its first international route from Subang Batik Air will operate daily flights to Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport beginning July 28, 2025. Anlene CholestoPro lowers cholesterol and supports bone health The new milk formulation is designed to support cholesterol levels while promoting bone, joint and muscle health. Turnover XXV sets the scene for a cinematic shake-up The new British film company lands in Malaysia with a plan to tell untold stories, train new talent, and flip the script on traditional filmmaking. Does your short horror film make the 'CUT!'? Win up to RM40,000! Sinister scares take the spotlight in Ampersand Advisory's thrilling new competition, which seeks scary movies of superior substance.
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Malay Mail
Blackpink's new tour heads to Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta but leaves Malaysian fans waiting
KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Blackpink's newly announced 'Deadline' world tour will include stops in Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore, but Malaysia is notably missing from the lineup. The K-pop superstars will perform in Bangkok from Oct 24 to 26 at Rajamangala National Stadium. Jakarta will host the group on Nov 1 and 2 at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium. Singapore's National Stadium will stage two nights of shows on Nov 29 and 30. The absence of a Kuala Lumpur date will disappoint Malaysian fans hoping Blackpink would return after their last show in the country in 2023. The tour kicks off in Goyang, South Korea on July 5 and 6 July heading to major North American cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and New York. Blackpink will then head to Europe, with concerts scheduled in Paris, Milan, Barcelona and London in August. The group will also perform in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on Oct 18 and 19, before wrapping up the tour in Tokyo and Hong Kong in January 2026. The 'Deadline' tour will be the first reunion of the group's four artistes — Jennie, Lisa,, Rosé, and Jisoo — who spent recent years on solo pursuits.
Malay Mail
22-05-2025
- Malay Mail
Thailand's wild LGBTQ ghost romp ‘A Useful Ghost' bags top Critics' Week prize at Cannes
CANNES, May 22 — Film director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, who won a top prize at the Cannes Festival on Wednesday, recruited a major influencer for his off-the-wall gay comedy with a political punch. In A Useful Ghost, Davika 'Mai' Hoorne — a model and actor with 18 million followers on Instagram — plays a woman who returns from the dead and haunts a vacuum cleaner to comfort her husband. The film features sexy ghosts and a brawl between electrical appliances, but is also a meditation on sweeping unpleasant political events under the carpet. It won the top prize in the Critics' Week sidebar section of Cannes film festival on Wednesday. In Thailand, LGBTQ love or coming-out stories are common, Ratchapoom told AFP during the festival. 'But I want queer characters to do more than that, to do more politics as well,' he said. 'We need more diverse queer stories to be told.' In his wacky satire, the ghost's in-laws are at first deeply displeased that she has returned, but then they put her to work hunting down another lost soul disturbing the family factory. A minister takes note of her talent, and brings her in to find and terminate the dissident ghosts that are haunting his home, including people killed in real-life deadly protests. In 2010, more than 90 people were killed, the vast majority of them civilians, when the army cracked down on so-called 'Red Shirt' protests demanding new elections after former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a coup. 'Very brave' After the demonstrations, there was 'a lot of debris, mess on the street and the city of Bangkok started this campaign to cleanse' it, the filmmaker said. People with water and brooms appeared out of nowhere 'to cleanse the blood, the dirt... all the evidence, and I found it pretty weird'. He recounted once reading a story about authorities cutting down a mango tree to ensure no one would remember an officer executing a suspected Communist under it. 'In Thailand, the state always tries to erase something they don't like,' he said. The film's lead actress Davika — who also starred as a ghost more than a decade ago in Thailand's highest-grossing film Pee Mak — is among his fans. You have to be 'very brave to shoot this kind of story, to speak up globally', she said. 'Because in Thailand, most of us are not allowed to say this,' she added, without elaborating. Thaksin, some of whose supporters were killed in 2010, returned from exile to Thailand in 2023, with his party taking over government that year and his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra becoming prime minister the following year. He remains popular with his support base, but he has long been disliked by Thailand's pro-royalist and military establishment. Thaksin is due to appear in court in July in a royal defamation case. Thailand legalised same-sex marriage in January, the largest nation in Asia to do so. — AFP
