Udon Thani MP Anan Amarin of the People’s Party warns the government against using official bureaucratic channels to recruit people or request additional budgets merely to boost attendance at the World Horticultural Expo in Udon Thani. He notes that attendance during the first three days remains far below target and offers five recommendations to improve event efficiency.
On 5 Nov 2026 GMT+7, Anan Amarin, Udon Thani MP for District 1 from the People’s Party, commented on the progress of the World Horticultural Expo in Udon Thani, which officially opened to the public four days ago. The government set a total attendance target of 3.6 million people over 134 days, averaging about 26,866 visitors per day. However, official figures for the first three days (1-3 Nov) show 8,999 visitors on 1 Nov, 9,342 on 2 Nov, and 10,128 on 3 Nov, totaling 28,469—an average of only 9,490 visitors per day.
Anan noted that although attendance shows a daily increase, it still represents only about 35% of the government’s stated daily target. This means that over the remaining 131 days, the government would need to attract an average of 27,264 visitors per day to meet the 3.6 million goal. Regarding Deputy Minister of Agriculture Watcharapol Khaokham’s statement that nearly 9,000 visitors on opening day exceeded expectations and that attendance might reach 20,000 per day during the high season, Anan observed that even 20,000 daily visitors would still fall short of the average needed to meet the government’s target.
Anan added that although the event has only been underway for four days, he is not ready to declare it a failure and hopes it will not be so, as the people of Udon Thani deserve real economic benefits from this major national investment. However, he has two preliminary concerns he wants to communicate to the government.
1. Avoid using official bureaucratic mechanisms to recruit visitors: If attendance falls short of the target, he does not want to see circular letters from the Ministry of Interior sent to provinces, districts, municipalities, subdistricts, or provincial administrative organizations requesting study groups to attend, especially if local government budgets are used to cover travel and accommodation costs merely to create impressive attendance figures.
2. Avoid solving the problem by requesting additional budgets: The project has already spent hundreds of millions of baht on management, publicity, and activities. If attendance is below target, the government should review and evaluate the effectiveness of the funds spent rather than seeking more budget approvals without transparent cost-effectiveness assessments.
Anan therefore proposes five policy recommendations to the government to maximize management efficiency:
1. Officially disclose daily and cumulative attendance figures compared with the 3.6 million target, allowing the public to monitor progress throughout the event.
2. Clearly differentiate attendance statistics among general tourists, official study groups from government agencies, and groups supported by state budget travel subsidies.
3. Refrain from setting quotas or issuing circulars that pressure local administrative organizations to allocate budgets for group visits to the event.
4. Transparently disclose details and cost-effectiveness before requesting additional budgets; any additional spending must be justified and carefully evaluated rather than approved solely to chase attendance numbers.
5. Accelerate efforts to upgrade and improve event quality—including international garden zones, activities, facilities, public transportation, and proactive publicity—to attract tourists who come voluntarily.
Anan concluded that he hopes the World Horticultural Expo in Udon Thani will truly succeed, but success should be measured by the real economic benefits received by Udon Thani residents, such as increased income for businesses, job creation, and stimulated local tourism—not merely by impressive attendance figures in reports. If people are reluctant to attend, the government must improve event quality rather than spending more budget to artificially inflate attendance. Most importantly, it should not use a second round of taxpayers’ money to prove the success of the first round.