Minh Chau Nguyen- Hallmark event

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Hallmark event Individual assignment Minh Chau Nguyen Student ID: 20670174 Tutor: Yana Ostapenko Tutorial time: Thursday 10a.m

In this modern world, people decide to travel as a method of running away from all the pressure and difficulties in their stressful and fast life. Many people may find peace and relief when travelling. Before they start their trip, people would search for a suitable destination, they would want to know what they can do or what is happening at the place, which fits their preference. Attending a hallmark event may be one of the reasons for travelers to go to the destination. Thailand, this country is many people’s dream destinations as it is well-known for fascinating culture and various activities with captivating natural resources. Therefore, this paper will discuss on the iconic hallmark event in Thailand- Songkran Festival and a sense of place and discover how Songkran festival bring benefits to Thailand in various aspects. To begin with, Songkran has been one of the most iconic and popular festival in Thailand. It is a Thai’s New Year with a primary value is the necessary of family. The festival usually lasts for three days from the 13 th to the 15 th of April every year. The origins are traced back to the ancient Indian festival of Makar Sankriti. The Indian version acknowledges the sun's celestial path, whereas Thai recognizes the passage of an old year into a new one. Although Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand, which is the most popular tourist destination, but visitors is recommended to come to Chiang Mai to fully discover this religious event. Due to Chiang Mai’s unique tradition and cultural practice, this city has been Thai people’s destination for a long time (Cochrane, 2007). According to Intason, Lee and Coetzee (2021, p. 508), Thai people believe that at this time, they should wash away all sin and negativity from the previous year in order to be prepared for a prosperous new year. Moreover, through this traditional festival, people would appreciate the importance of family and help the young enhance their respect to elders. This ceremony has a comparable connotation to the Chinese Lunar New Year, which

usually occurs at the end of January or early February. These primary purposes are exemplified by three traditions: water splashing practice, the Rod Nam Dam Hua ritual, and the sand pagoda creation. The Songkran event has evolved in tandem with the passage of time and the growth of the host country, demonstrating the modernity and adaptability of the Thai people. For example, the water plashing activity involved delicately sprinkling water upon the shoulders with respect and admiration. However, the practice has recently shifted dramatically. Participants can now immerse each other as much as they want, creating a tumultuous scenario (Intason, Coetzee, and Lee, 2019). It is not difficult to locate an attendee with high-pressure water funs and massive buckets of iced water, enjoying their time in this festival. The next section of this paper will devote the definition and explain how Songkran Festival is a hallmark event. An event is evaluated as a hallmark event if it is eligible for particular aspects. Firstly, the frequency of the event, hallmark events usually occur as a mark of an important historical anniversary (Donald, Bo, Robert, and Anders, 2012). The term itself describes recurring events that possesses attractiveness, financial advantages, and image for the host community. It is undeniable that the Songkran festival occurs every year which evolve Thailand’s awareness and reputation in international tourist’s view. Secondly, the magnitude of a hallmark event is comparable to that of a mega event, with a massive scale of tourists, media attention, and economic implications (Frost, Laing, and Jennifer, 2011). The key objective of the hallmark event is to offer the host community with an opportunity to get significant visibility in the tourist business. Songkran celebration is a national festival. Citizens from all over the country celebrate this festival that tourists from other countries can also attend, which explains why the event is so enormous. Then, the event is well-known for its iconic natural feature. Each

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festival has distinct characteristics and functions that set it apart from the others. Places, people, or objects that embody cultural values and identity aspirations can generate a specialty. Discussing the symbol, Songkran event has represented Thais' ancient spiritual beliefs and highlighted the richness of intangible legacy through the three cultural components. (Intason, Lee, and Coetzee, 2021). Event tourism has a supply and demand side, representing what places seek as well as the visitors who are interested to events. A signature event will serve to accomplish the tourism aims, but it must also be envisioned in terms of tourist experiences and the event's image for potential visitors. Every event in the planned venue portfolio must achieve one or more objectives. Hallmark events must have the capacity to attract tourists, provide positive and inspirable image and financial benefits, and be sustainable in the broadest sense (Donald, Bo, Robert, and Anders, 2012). Songkran event has done a good job of cultivating a sense of place. The interplay of environment, cultures, and local customs has leads to a sense of place, presenting tourists with genuine and indigenous experiences. Festival goers are given a perspective of locality by using their five senses of touching, hearing, smelling, and seeing to explore the country's traditions. For instance, the water splashing mentioned above is a classic example of authentic experience that tourist cannot find in other country. In addition, the Rod Dam Nam Hua ceremony is also a fundamental activity when travelers taking part in Songkran festival, as Intason, Lee and Coetzee described in their paper (2021): In this cultural practice, scented water is poured on elder’s hands by the younger generation, who also request for forgiveness for transgressions committed against their elders. In return, the elders will express forgiveness

and provide a blessing of good fortune in the New Year. This cultural practice aims to enhance the bonds between family members and is an opportunity for young family members to show their appreciation to their parents or grandparents. Rod Dam Nam Hua ceremony emphasis the key meaning of Songkran festival which is the importance of family. Besides, the sand pagoda building is also one of the iconic activities that tourist should not miss when they visit Thailand during Songkran festival. Celebrants grab sand from riverbanks and take it to any local temples in establishing a sand pagoda. These creations can be embellished with colorful flags, flowers, and candles, which serve as a sign of devotion to Buddha (Intason, Lee and Coetzee, 2021). Every year, local and foreign tourists gather to the Ban Bathr community to witness the traditional method of producing monks' alms bowls and to take part in the Songkran festival. In this circumstance, the Songkran Festival at Ban Batr has become a popular site for visitors enthusiastic in enduring the traditional Songkran celebration. Tourism offers several impacts on the host destination. Within the tourism industry, culture is viewed as a resource that the locations may use to provide tourists with able to engage in local spiritual traditions. The Songkran celebration, as well as other iconic cultural festivals, is an effective marketing tool. Because of their distinctive traits, these sorts of events pique the public's curiosity and draw national and worldwide attention. The organization requires numerous stakeholders in the planning and running processes; the participation and interactions of stakeholders determine the success of events. Beverage manufacturers can use the festival to advertise their products by sponsoring unique activities that encourage public involvement. Local fairs should also be established to increase local financial advantages

(Intason, Lee, and Coetzee, 2021). Because Songkran is based on a traditional temple fair concept, authorities may sell local products and promote tickets to cultural performances. In this situation, the festival's primary role is commercialization rather than cultural values. This was apparent because, while outsiders attend the Songkran celebration in Chiang Mai, they watched and followed the procedure of how the locals celebrated the event. Furthermore, enterprises, such as hotels and restaurants, might be beneficial from the event as they continue to receive high revenue from domestic tourists and visitors. This distinctive approach of cultural celebration delivers tourists and visitors with one-of-a-kind experiences through cultural customs. Tourism may also be used by the local community to effectively reinforce and exhibit their unique identity (Richards, 2020). This implies that the tourist, government, and commercial sectors can collaborate to maintain the traditional activities associated with the Songkran Festival. This is a major accomplishment in the co-creation of value between event tourism firms, retail trade, local communities, and tourists during a major cultural event. The Songkran festival, in this example, symbolizes the cultural relevance and values of the local community via traditional celebrations. Meanwhile, by offering hospitality and services to tourists, the tourism and commercial sectors may profit economically. Regarding the large-scale of Songkran, an analysis of the relationship between the celebration, tourism, and commercial activity is given through the construction of rail and road infrastructure from Bangkok to Chiangmai (Porananond and Robinson, 2008). Thai people travelled from Bangkok to Chiang Mai joining in the Lanna Songkran celebration style, especially the water splashing practice. The improved public transportation infrastructure has been a major element in increasing the number of domestic tourists to Chiang Mai. Since 1922, the

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train system has served as a place for 'outsiders' (Cochrane, 2007). In fact, the 1970s and 1980s saw the first increase in foreign tourists to Thailand, but not only in 1977, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand also strongly promoted Chiang Mai as a tourist destination. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), there were 60,742 domestic people and 40,646 overseas visitors in 1971, with the Songkran celebration being the primary attraction. Since the early 1990s, tourism has been the sole income for Thailand, notably Chiang Mai, attributable to the appeal of its festivals. The TAT exploited the Songkran Festival as a promotional platform to enhance Thai customs and tourism in Thailand. The festival was marketed as a special event for domestic tourists, while presenting the festival as a cultural product for international visitors in order to stimulate Thai tourism. To conclude, the findings of the study establish a comprehensive linkage among a hallmark cultural event, tourism, and commercial activity, in this case the Songkran festival. Not only do the locations profit from the event, but so does the event itself. The Songkran festival's popularity is obvious, as seen by its large attendance and appeal. In general, while thinking about Thailand, visitors and future tourist can have a sense of place that the Songkran celebration is an indispensable period as well as Chiang Mai. In order to creating an iconic hallmark event like Songkran festival, it is the contribution of variety participants, management strategies and many different stakeholders including authorities, business companies, citizens. The relationships and their major effects on the social, cultural, and economic factors of the event have been highlighted noticeably. Thanks to cultural hallmark events, the host country can preserve their spiritual identity and traditional heritage since the development of technologies has more and more occupied and controlled the majority of human’s lifestyle.

Reference Getz, D., Svensson, B., Peterssen, R., & Gunnervall, A. (2012). Hallmark events: Definition and planning process. International journal of event management research , 7 (1/2), 47-67. Intason, M., Coetzee, W. and Lee, C. (2019) ‘The interplay between authenticity and commercialization in cultural festivals’, In: CAUTHE 2019: Sustainability of Tourism, Hospitality & Events in a Disruptive Digital Age: Proceedings of the 29th Annual Conference. Cairns, QLD: Central Queensland University, Australia, 2019: 531-533. https://search-informit- org.ez.library.latrobe.edu.au/doi/10.3316/informit.414458884512729 . Intason, M., Lee, C. & Coetzee, W., 2021. Examining the interplay between a hallmark cultural event, tourism, and commercial activities: A case study of the Songkran Festival. Journal of hospitality and tourism management, 49, pp.508–518. Frost, W. & Laing, Jennifer, 2011. Strategic management of festivals and events 2nd ed., South Melbourne, Vic.: Cengage Learning Australia. Porananond, Ploysri, and Mike Robinson. "Modernity and the evolution of a festive tourism tradition: The Songkran festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand." Asian Tourism: Growth and Change. Edited by Cochrane Janet. Oxford: Elsevier (2008): 311-22. Cochrane, J., Ebook Library & ProQuest, 2007. Asian Tourism, Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Richards, G., 2020. Designing creative places: The role of creative tourism. Annals of tourism research, 85, p.102922.

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