Red Lotus Sea sees tourism spike after Lisa campaign

Thailand's Red Lotus Sea has seen a surge in visitors after a Tourism Authority campaign featuring Blackpink's Lisa, with officials forecasting up to 120,000 arrivals during this year's bloom season.

Thailand's Red Lotus Sea has seen a notable rise in visitors this bloom season, and officials are forecasting up to 120,000 arrivals. The wetland lake in Kumphawapi district, Udon Thani, typically peaks with pink lotus flowers between January and February and attracts tourism each year. This season, the Tourism Authority of Thailand ran a promotional campaign featuring Thai-born singer Lalisa Manobal (Lisa of Blackpink). Officials and local operators say the campaign and the online discussion that followed helped expand interest from foreign travellers. Key details: - Tourism officials forecast up to 120,000 arrivals during this year's bloom season. - Community enterprises at Ban Diam Pier reported more than 50,000 visitors between December and late January, with foreign tourists accounting for about 48.27% of that total. - Boat services increased to roughly 400 trips a day from about 100 in previous seasons, and a fleet of 95 boats is now in daily operation. - The campaign image prompted some online speculation that it was AI-generated; Tourism Authority officials said the image was a real photograph from a filming and photography process. - Officials stated the main 25,000-rai (40 sq km) section of the lake will remain in full bloom until mid-February, and a second 5,000-rai (8 sq km) area will bloom from mid-February to mid-March. - The ministry of tourism and sports has ordered agencies to strengthen coordination, inspect boat operators, monitor safety equipment, manage queues and guard against overcharging. Summary: Local operators report higher demand and increased income for boat drivers and nearby small businesses, while officials say the surge requires closer monitoring of safety and service standards. The ministry has instructed inspections and strengthened coordination at the site as the bloom season continues.