Chiang Mai will be full of events and activities today (Saturday) and tomorrow, especially its shopping and walking streets, with police advising motorists to expect congested traffic and the closure of some roads.

According to Pol Lt-Col Supachai Chantra, the deputy superintendent in charge of traffic, the events include a concert today. There will also be an initiation event, in which about 20,000 people, mostly students and alumni of Chiang Mai University join first-year students on an 11km walk, from the foot of the Doi Suthep mountain to Phra That Doi Suthep Temple.

The Civil Service Commission is holding examinations for government service jobs and there will be a car race, at the 700th Anniversary Chiang Mai Stadium, and a trade exhibition at the International Convention Centre.

Roads, such as Nimmanahaeminda and Huai Kaew and Rinkham intersection, which are peppered with restaurants, cafes, stores and malls, are expected to be crowded, especially at night.

About 75% of the city’s 40,000 hotel rooms are already booked for the weekend, according to La-iad Bungsrithong, advisor to the Northern Hotels Association.

She said most tourists from Europe and the US stay at 5-star hotels, while 3 and 4-star hotels usually cater to seminar attendees and families. Backpackers and other tourists prefer guest houses or small hotels.

Plane tickets on the Chiang Mai-Bangkok route on Sunday are expensive, with a minimum air fare currently 4,800 baht.