News Forum - TAT expects Phuket Vegetarian Festival to make over 3 billion baht

[Thaiger]

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says it expects Phuket’s upcoming annual vegetarian festival to rake in more than 3 billion baht of visitor money this year. The festival will be held from September 26 to October 4. Some 81,429 travellers on 506 international flights are due to visit Phuket during the festival. Meanwhile, 110,165 domestic travellers are due to arrive on 919 domestic flights, according to the director of TAT’s Phuket office. The director said today that the arrivals are expected to spend about 3.4 billion baht on the island province.  The director said that the average hotel occupancy […]

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[skatewash]

Guide to the Vegetarian Festival (also known as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival) published by the Tourist Authority of Thailand every year about one week in advance of the festival.  The guide doesn't load immediately but takes a minute or so.

https://issuu.com/phuket.inzpire/docs/phuket_vegetarian_2022_eng_

In addition the  Go Teng poles (tall poles found at almost all Chinese Shrines on Phuket) are raised the day before the festival begins 25 September (Sunday) and lowered the day after the festival ends on 5 October (Wednesday).  The Go Teng poles are raised to allow the Nine Emperor Gods to descend to earth to participate in the festival.  Generally, the raising occurs in the late afternoon as does the lowering.  The lowering usually involves the burning of all the prayers made on paper used during the festival, it's usually a large bonfire.  My experience in previous years is at the Kathu Shrine, but I believe any of the big shrines, Jui Tui, Bang Liao, and many of the smaller shrines do the same.

For those concerned with how the Nine Emperor Gods get back to heaven, they just sail away across the water after having been carried through the streets of Phuket Town accompanied by a huge quantity of firecrackers.  The Phuket Town shrines finish at the Chinese Shrine at the end of Saphan Hin Park very late (midnight or so) on the last night of the festival 4 October (Tuesday).