Super Sonic Bangkok, held last weekend, was the most recent and boasted a line-up of top global artists including Black Eyed Peas and Camila Cabello.
More is to come. In November, international hip-hop festival Rolling Loud is set to hold its third annual edition in Pattaya. Electronic music events 808 Festival and UK-based Creamfields are taking place in Bangkok in December, while Phuket will host the Electric Daisy Carnival Thailand in January.
Over the next year, Mariah Carey, BLACKPINK, Jackson Wang, Doja Cat and Guns N’ Roses will play standalone concerts in Bangkok.
“The music festival scene in Thailand is currently on the rise. The region is cementing its place as a new hub in the global festival landscape,” a spokesperson for Live Nation Tero, the local promoter of Creamfields Asia, told CNA in a statement.
Thailand has bet on mega-music festivals and high-profile live entertainment events to help cement its place as Asia’s new global stage and reap the tourism and economic benefits that could follow, according to Gary Bowerman, a tourism policy and consumer trends analyst.
“Thailand is serious about investing significant sums into its live performance economy, and is capable of securing major global franchise events,” he said.
The Thai government will spend over 2 billion baht (US$61.5 million) to host Tomorrowland, according to Sorawong Thienthong, the minister of tourism and sports.
“The challenge now is to leverage that investment to boost both domestic and inbound tourism – and expenditure,” Bowerman said.
The country’s tourism industry remains lacklustre. It is set to miss its target of 39 million foreign arrivals in 2025, a number just shy of the 2019 peak of 39.8m. The country recorded 19.3 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first seven months of 2025, 6 per cent below the same period last year.
With its international tourism industry dipping, Thailand is doubling down on a “quality over quantity” gameplan with a focus on higher-spending visitors, the likes of whom might see music festivals as a reason to visit the kingdom.
“It has publicly supported the growth of the festival industry as part of its ‘soft power’ strategy, aiming to boost tourism revenue and the local economy,” said Live Nation Tero’s spokesperson.
“This supportive environment creates a stable and favourable climate for large international events,” the spokesperson said.
