BANGKOK – Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin expressed his satisfaction that Chinese tourists intend to visit Thailand for the Chinese New Year celebration in February, as a result of visa exemption. However, he is equally interested with facilitation and safety in welcome travellers.
On February 1, the Prime Minister directed relevant authorities, such as the Immigration Bureau, to manage immigration checks at the airport to minimise excessive congestion, and the AOT prepared to welcome visitors in a convenient and efficient manner, such as receiving luggage quickly, on time, and accurately. The police must prioritise the safety of tourists and prevent any criminal acts.
Kittipong Kittikachorn, Director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT), said on Thursday that during the Chinese New Year Festival from February 4-16 (13 days in total), Suvarnabhumi Airport is expected to have a total of 2,366,940 passengers, or approximately 182,072 passengers per day, divided into 1,949,564 international passengers and 417,376 domestic passengers, an increase of 32.73 percent from last year’s Chinese New Year.
AOT also estimates that there will be a total of 12,883 flights during this period, or an average of 991 flights per day, divided into 9,878 international flights (including arrivals and departures) and 3,005 domestic flights (including arrivals and departures), up from 19.99 percent the previous year during the Chinese New Year holiday.
There are 10 airlines requesting to add extra and charter flights, totaling 226 flights, divided into 73 domestic flights and 153 international flights.
Ten airlines have requested extra and charter flights totaling 226 flights, with 73 domestic flights and 153 international flights. The top three airlines that requested additional flights (both inbound and outbound) were Bangkok Airways (73 flights), Thai Vietjet (42 flights), and Shanghai Airlines (26 flights), a 91.53 percent increase over last year’s Chinese New Year festival.
Noppasit Chakkrapitak, President of Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Company Limited, anticipates that the Chinese New Year, February 8-14, will be a time for both domestic and foreign travel. with a total flight volume of 16,766 flights, averaging 2,395 per day, a 17% increase over 2023.
During the Chinese New Year, there were 1,894 international flights between Thailand and China, with an average of 270 every day. Aeronautical Radio has produced equipment systems that are ready to provide continuous service in the area of air traffic flow management.
Chai Wacharonke, government spokesman, said earlier that the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) statistics on the number of international tourists entering Thailand (latest data as of 28 January). On average, over 20,000 Chinese tourists come to Thailand per day, totaling 444,702 people, making them the largest number of foreign tourists. And Thailand has had over 2,743,147 foreign tourists visit.
In addition, China International Travel Service (Qingdao) CO.,Ltd (CITS) that the results of the visa-free measures have led to the tourist group from Qingdao making Thailand a popular destination, especially during the Chinese New Year, which has the most flight bookings to Thailand.
After the visa waiver agreement between Thailand and China was signed on 28 January 2023, it was found that on Trip.com Thailand, the search rate for related search terms in China increased more than four times compared to the previous day.
The cities that Thai tourists searched for most frequently are Shanghai, Chengdu, Harbin, Shenzhen, Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing and Zhangjiajie. On the Chinese side, the search rate for search terms relating to Thailand on the Chinese platform Ctrip also increased more than 7-fold compared to the previous month. Searches for flight tickets and hotels also increased more than 6-fold compared to the previous month.
People from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan and Shandong searched more for information about Thailand. And the tourist attractions in Thailand that Chinese tourists searched for the most are Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and Pattaya.
_____
Related articles:
