Creative Economy Agency

UNFOLDING BANGKOK has recently been a buzz. The event is an initiative by the government to drive the economy of the nation after Thailand had to close to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has returned to fully open again. Additionally, it is a response to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference that was held in Bangkok in November 2022. UNFOLDING BANGKOK consists of three themes which was held from November 2022 - September 2023 in 10 areas across Bangkok. The theme included: Hidden Temple, a secret temple tour (Nov - Dec 22); Living Old Building, a retrospective of historical buildings (Feb - Apr 23); and Greeting Benjakitti, a visit to the forest park in the middle of the city (Mar - Sep 23). The event is set to attract tourists around the world to visit and explore “Bangkok,” a metropolis full of the charm of diversity, and encourage Thai people to realize the importance of space and valuable buildings that have currently been unused or closed down. At the same time, it also gives everyone the opportunity to participate and be part of the aesthetics of the city, which will lead to alternative ways of driving the nation’s economy.

Therefore, UNFOLDING BANGKOK marks the start of significant initiatives to boost Thailand's economy and stimulate new types of tourism. It was held with collaboration between the Creative Economy Agency (Public Organization) or CEA, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization), network partners of designers, and surrounding communities to reflect the new ideas and possibilities of Bangkok through the creative works, including lighting installations that portray the beauty of the architecture, art installations that are placed on the public spaces in the middle of the city, as well as other forms of creative activities for everyone to participate in. It is estimated that the event has attracted over 500,000 visitors and contributed over 286,713,582 baht to the economy. It may have a favorable effect on the economy and tourism by showcasing Bangkok's aesthetic perspective and securing "Bangkok" as the City of Design within the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).

“UNFOLDING BANGKOK” with the creativity

Bangkok, a large metropolis with a population of over 10 million, is distinctive for its tourism attractions, people, cuisine, and the imperfect uniqueness of its charms. All these make Bangkok one of the most well-known travel destinations. With 22.78 million international visitors and an estimated 2,003 million USD in revenue from tourists, Forbes named Bangkok the world's top destination for tourists in 2019. And recently, the rating of the world's most popular travel destinations was just made public by Agoda, the global digital tourism media. The rank was based on the reservation data from Agoda, which was gathered from May to August 2022 after many countries gradually opened their doors to accept tourists. It revealed that the world's most popular travel destination this year is "Bangkok". 

UNFOLDING BANGKOK is therefore a challenge in terms of the use of space, cultural assets, and creative design development. “UNFOLDING BANGKOK: HIDDEN TEMPLE, a secret temple tour,” the first theme that has ended, is the creative use of space for five temples in Thonburi districts. The aim is to let everyone get to know these hidden temples, which leads to the connection of the surrounding community tourism routes to attract domestic and foreign tourists into the community. The temples include Wat Intharam and Wat Chantharam-Wat Ratcha Khruet under the concept of The Pilgrimage; Wat Phumarin Ratchapaksi-Wat Dusidaram under the concept of Abandoned Temples in the Community; Wat Phraya Siri Aisawan and Wat Suaansawan, under the concept of The Hidden Domain in the Sacred Ground. UNFOLDING BANGKOK: HIDDEN TEMPLE, five hidden temples to explore on the Thonburi side, was presented through various activities, including the lighting installation, local and rare music, and performing arts. Across all five temples where the event took place, it attracted around 9,311 visitors, which resulted in an economic impact on the community of 15,297,973 baht. (Nov - Dec 2022). 

“UNFOLDING BANGKOK: LIVING OLD BUILDING, a retrospective of historical buildings,” was the redecoration of four historical buildings to retell their stories in an alternative way and make them a recreational space for all. The buildings were elaborated with light to illuminate the community and the city, both in terms of safety and giving the opportunity for 'light' to create more aesthetics for the city. The buildings include 1) Maen Si Waterworks; 2) Master Sculpture Hall, under Bangkok Design Week 2023; 3) Hua Lamphong Railway Station; and 4) Former Residence of Prince Sawasdiprawat. The event in all four buildings had attracted approximately 141,074 participants, resulting in an economic value of 231,784,582 baht (Jan - Apr 23).

The final theme, “UNFOLDING BANGKOK: GREETING BENJAKITTI, a visit to the forest park in the middle of the city,” is an inspiring art exhibition that stimulates the learning and realization of the value of Benjakitti Forest Park, Bangkok's first eco-park model. Five pieces of art installation in GREETING BENJAKITTI comprise the prototypes of experimental installation art in creating architectural benefits. They were equipped with the function of housing the various animals that play an important role in replenishing the ecosystem of this forest park. Apart from the arts, there were also performing arts and workshops that allowed everyone to participate in activities together. GREETING BENJAKITTI is the last program of UNFOLDING BANGKOK that is still open for visit until 30 September 2023. For a period of six months, it is expected that there will be at least 2,500 visitors per day, resulting in an estimated economic value of 50,000,000 baht.

"UNFOLDING BANGKOK" is one of the initiatives that have taken place to provide new experiences to Bangkok by identifying certain spaces that are valuable but are not yet well-known and using creativity and technology as a guideline for constructing an ecosystem to create a new ambiance, environment, and image out of them. This will have a great impact on tourism in Thailand, where the power of creativity will be used to improve the capacity of urban development as well as assist the government in making policy for the prosperity of the locals, expansion investment, and well-being development, which eventually leads to a higher value for the country.