Tourist numbers expected to soar as summer season approaches

Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit expects a large number of foreign arrivals in Thailand during the summer season from March 30 to October 26.

Relevant agencies, including the Airports of Thailand (AOT) and the Department of Airports (DOA), have been ordered to prepare a plan to support an influx of tourists at airports and ensure their safety, he said.

He said the ministry has received a report from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) regarding the allocation of flight slots for summer 2025, and found that the numbers of flights and passengers have increased.

Suvarnabhumi Airport has allocated an average of 1,202 flight slots a day to airlines, up 16.36% from the pre-Covid-19 period, he explained, while Don Mueang Airport has allocated an average of 745 flight slots a day, up 2.74% over 2019.

Chiang Mai and Phuket airports have allocated an average of 240 and 340 flights a day, up 17.65% and 7.59% respectively.

Airports under the DOA are expected to see 27,077 flights in summer. These include  25,395 domestic flights and 1,682 international flights, up 6.67% and 43.28% year on year, respectively. The number of passengers in the summer is expected to reach 7.88 million people, up 10.52% year on year. These include 7.42 million domestic passengers and 462,557 international passengers, up 8.27% and 65.64% year on year.

Suriya noted that several airlines have planned to add more flight routes to facilitate travellers at reasonable ticket prices. 

Relevant agencies have been ordered to further develop the aviation industry to ensure convenience and safety among passengers, focusing on technology adoption, he said.

He added that Suvarnabhumi Airport should be named among the world’s top 20 airlines within five years to meet the government’s policy to promote Thailand as an aviation hub in ASEAN.

Suvarnabhumi Airport development covers three phases:

• Short-term (2024-2025): Having the capacity to support 1.2 million flights and 180 million passengers.
• Medium-term (2026-2028): Support 1.4 million flights and 210 million passengers
• Long-term (2029-2037): Support 2.1 million flights and 270 million passengers

Additionally, the airport should be named among the top five airports for air cargo transportation in Asia Pacific, Suriya added.

According to the Tourism and Sports Ministry, Thailand welcomed 4.8 million foreign travellers from January 1 to February 9 this year, generating 234.95 billion baht in revenue.

The top five foreign arrivals included those from China (825,617), Malaysia  (617,631), Russia (330,628), South Korea (263,572) and India (232,828).

Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said the number of long-haul tourists on February 3-9 has risen by 4.15% compared to the previous week, thanks to an increase in Russian and French travellers.

However, the number of short-haul tourists has slowed down after Chinese New Year, he said. The situation in South Korea, such as aviation accidents, politics and currency, also affected the confidence among South Korean travellers, he added.

Sorawong expects the number of foreign arrivals next week to stabilise, but confirmed that Thailand has measures and activities to stimulate tourism, such as an activity to boost confidence over safety among Chinese tourists and a free visa scheme.