More than 3.1 million foreign tourists arrived in Thailand in October, an increase of 43.55% over September, said Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob today (Wednesday).
Arrivals by air accounted for 96.36% of all arrivals. 2.2 million (75%) arrived at Suvarnabhumi international airport, followed by 400,000 at Don Mueang Airport.
October 1st saw Thailand officially enter a post-pandemic period, accompanied by the end of three years of COVID-19 travel restrictions, to which the spike in tourist arrivals is being attributed.
The Thai Immigration Bureau confirmed today that a widely shared image on TikTok, showing a large number of arriving tourists queuing at the immigration checkpoints in Suvarnabhumi airport, is real.
Pol Maj-Gen Cherngron Rimphadee, deputy spokesman for the bureau, said that the image is believed to have been taken during the afternoon of October 30th, when about 20 flights per hour were arriving, bringing about 4,000 passengers.
He said immigration officials usually take about 45 seconds to process the passports and visas of each passenger.
Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is pleased that Thailand was voted the “Best Leisure City in Asia-Pacific” for the sixth consecutive time in the Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2022.
The prime minister thanked all agencies concerned for their efforts to promote tourism and to make Bangkok the best leisure city in the Asia-Pacific region.
