Thailand’s Cabinet has declared Monday July 27^th a public holiday, in lieu of one postponed Songkran day off, government spokeswoman Mrs. Narumon Pinyosinwat said on Tuesday.

The extra day off will give people in Thailand four public holidays, from Saturday July 25^th until July 28^th  which is His Majesty the King’s birthday.

Normally, there are three public holidays for the Songkran festival.

However, Mrs. Narumon said that the Cabinet is concerned that having four days holiday in a row may disrupt official work, or cause inconvenience to some members of the public, who may have business with state agencies during the period.

So it has designated the heads of state agencies and enterprises to decide whether they should allow their officials to take all four days off.  The private sector is also free to decide whether they should take four days or three.