Bangkok – Thailand’s niche-market focus on culture and culinary tourism is to get another boost between March 1 – May 31, when the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) again joins forces with Visa International (VISA) to organise the “Thailand Splash and Spice Festival.”

This year’s festival has been extended to cover a full three months. This allows  to cover both the summer school holidays and the Thai New Year period (Songkran) to ensure maximum patronage from both local residents and foreign visitors.

The event has also been adjusted to include specific restaurants in hotels in the four- to five-star categories in Thailand’s six major tourist destinations (Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Samui).

In these outlets, patrons will be able to avail of the Privilege programme called “One Price Point Menu” that will offer lunch priced at 749++ Baht per person and dinner priced at 1,499++ Baht per person.

TAT Governor Thawatchai Arunyik said, “The expanded festival is part of our continuing effort to underscore our new brand campaign “2015 Discover Thainess”. As Thai cuisine is well-known all over the world, this festival will give visitors further incentive to come and enjoy it in Thailand itself, at very value-for-money prices.”

The term “Splash & Spice” refers to Songkran, Thailand’s water festival, which relieves the hot season with a big splash, and the grand taste of exotic spices, which abound in the amazing variety of cuisine that can be found in Thai hotel outlets.

TAT and VISA originally initiated the “Thailand Splash & Spice” campaign in 2012 in order to capitalise on the popularity of Thai cuisine and drive business to the many world-class international restaurants that have opened in Bangkok and popular tourist spots nationwide. The campaign also leads to a commensurate growth in average visitor expenditure and length of stay.