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This article investigated the codestruction of cultural significance through the cocreation and evolution of a hallmark cultural event, using the Songkran Festival, Thailand, as a case study. The Songkran Festival began within an agricultural society rooted in Buddhist cultural inheritance. Traditionally, Thai people cocreated the celebration by offering food to monks ( Puñña ), and releasing fish or birds on Maha Songkran (i. e., the last day of the previous year) in April. They built sand pagodas or Chedi Sai at Buddhist temples to compensate for sand that was removed under their feet over the previous year. They also reunited with family by traveling back to their hometowns to pay respects to family elders and ancestors. After that, they would pour water from a silver bowl onto each other's shoulders as a sign of blessing, and the water represented wishes for good rainfall for the New Year's harvest. The cocreation between tourism sectors, local businesses, and the festival stakeholders transformed festivities into foam parties, special events, and leisure activities to stimulate tourism demand and to generate economic benefit. Consequently, these new celebrating practices codestructed the cultural significance and core values of the Songkran Festival. Therefore, this study sought to understand the evolution and cocreation phenomena in the festival that leads to codestruction of its cultural significance and core values through document analysis and semistructured interviews. The findings were thematically reported into four crucial themes that present key characteristics of codestructed cultural significance in the Songkran Festival: social change, public participation, the proliferation of leisure activities for economic gain, and commercialization of the Songkran Festival. The implications of this study contribute to expanding the understanding of the coexistence between cocreation and codestruction phenomena in cultural events.

PurposeThe contradiction between the purpose of the water-splashing tradition, the use of water in a water-stressed destination and overconsumption during a time of water shortage led the researchers to question the spirit of the Songkran Festival. It is important to keep the spirit of the festival alive without interrupting the livelihoods of the community and to critically engage with opportunities and challenges related to water-saving practices during the festival. Thus, this study aims to investigate the opportunities and challenges to responsible practices of water-saving at a cultural festival, using a case study of the water-splashing practice at the Songkran Festival in Thailand.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the cultural practice, namely, the water-splashing tradition at the Songkran Festival in Thailand, as a case study. The researchers conducted document analysis on local newspapers, the Bangkok Post specifically and participant observation at the Songkran Festival in the Khao San Road area in Bangkok, to gain first-hand insights to develop comprehensive results which answers the study’s objectives.FindingsThe key findings show three significant themes representing the opportunities for implementing sustainable water-saving practices; a call for a water-saving campaign, education on water saving and water-splashing restrictions. In terms of challenges to implementing water-saving practices, two key themes emerged; a lack of water stress and drought awareness and the hedonistic characteristic of water splashing. The study findings provide important implications to theory and practice for sustainable event management and provide considerations for event stakeholders to minimise water overuse in festivals.Originality/valueEnvironmental degradation is a key global issue that the United Nations addresses in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) scheme (United Nations Development Program, 2016). According to Pereira et al. (2009), water scarcity can be caused by both human activities and natural causes. Factors such as unlimited water consumption, population growth and climate change are some of the contributing factors that not only affects resident's access to water but also on events hosted within communities. It is crucial that event managers critically re-think the way festivals are designed in water-stressed destinations.

Refereed/Peer-reviewed Using a case study of the Songkran festival, this study explores the transformation of cultural practices through the interplay between a hallmark cultural event, tourism, and commercial activities. A methodological triangulation technique involving document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation was used to pursue the study's aim. A comprehensive model representing the co-creation and co-destruction of cultural practices in a hallmark cultural event is then presented. The model demarcates four phenomena: 1) discouraging commercialisation interplay, 2) supportive interplay, 3) discouraging cultural practices interplay, and 4) parallel phenomenon. Additionally, the study discovered that cultural event management also involves management of spatial and temporal dimensions. The study's findings should encourage stakeholders of cultural events to develop clear roadmaps when planning the long-term development of cultural events. This ensures that any loss of cultural significance can be minimised while also meeting the needs and expectations of different stakeholders.