From Pattaya Mail

Pattaya and Koh Larn Island, two of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand, welcomed the New Year with a grand celebration that attracted over 300,000 visitors and generated more than 2.5 billion baht in economic circulation. The event, dubbed “Pattaya Countdown 2024”, was a joint effort between the city of Pattaya and the Provincial Administration Organization of Chonburi, with support from the public and private sectors.

The event, which ran from December 29 to 31, featured a variety of activities and attractions for both Thai and international tourists, such as concerts, fireworks, food stalls, and light shows. The event was held for the first time on Pattaya Beach, under the theme “The Fantastic Beach”, to showcase the beauty and charm of the seaside city. The event also included free trade spaces for local vendors, who were able to sell their products and services to the visitors, creating an additional income source and stimulating the local economy.

The event was a resounding success, with accommodation bookings in Pattaya exceeding 90% of available rooms, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The event also drew huge crowds to the beachfront, where a spectacular fireworks display lit up the sky on the final night. A photo taken from a hotel showed a kilometre-long stretch of people enjoying the music, the views, and the food on the beach road.

I'm happy for Pattaya and Thai economy but have some doubt about how they managed to come up with that 2.5 billion figure that fast. Another case of 87.43 %  statistics are made on the spot perhaps?

2 hours ago, reader said:

 

300,000 visitors spend 2.5 billion baht

... The event was a resounding success, with accommodation bookings in Pattaya exceeding 90% of available rooms, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The event also drew huge crowds to the beachfront, where a spectacular fireworks display lit up the sky on the final night. A photo taken from a hotel showed a kilometre-long stretch of people enjoying the music, the views, and the food on the beach road.

It would be interesting to know how many of those (supposedly) 2.5 billion baht will be required to clean up the resulting mess and damage on the beach. 

6 hours ago, vinapu said:

I'm happy for Pattaya and Thai economy but have some doubt about how they managed to come up with that 2.5 billion figure that fast. Another case of 87.43 %  statistics are made on the spot perhaps?

2.5 billions Baht for 300000 visitors is about USD 245 per visitor. Very reasonable estimation.  

4 hours ago, Boy69 said:

2.5 billions Baht for 300000 visitors is about USD 245 per visitor. Very reasonable estimation.  

There was one year when I happened to visit the city during one of these big events. The vast majority of the visitors at the event were Thais. I reckon they were either living in the Chonburi area or from Bangkok. I can't imagine them needing to spend an average of 8,333 baht per head. Even if that figure included hotel costs for 1 or 2 nights, they are almost all family groups, and so would have shared rooms.