200,000 Chinese tourists to come to Thailand for Lunar New Year

BANGKOK - Thai public and private sectors are preparing Thailand for Chinese New Year as at least 200,000 tourists from China are expected to celebrate in the country, Thai News Agency reported on Thursday.

Thanitta Savetsila Maneechote, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Sports, said the ministry expected about at least 200, 000 tourists from China to choose Thailand as their destination during the Chinese New Year holiday, started Sunday and extending through next week.

Apart from Bangkok and northern province of Chiang Mai, southern west coastal province of Krabi, east coastal province of Surat Thani and touristic island of Phuket, are among the destinations expected to be crowded with Chinese tourists.

Because of large number of tourists, the ministry has cooperated with several state and private agencies to arrange facilities for the tourists' convenience in Thailand.

The tourists will mostly enter Thailand through three major airports: Suvarnabhumi and Don Meaung in Bangkok and Phuket, the official said.

Thirty-one additional chartered flights, or a total of 985 flights altogether, will land at Suvarnabhumi Airport daily on Feb 6-18, carrying 216,866 passengers, while Don Meaung will receive 98 chartered flights with 14,000 travelers.

Thanitta said tourism and immigration police will be reinforced at the airports to facilitate arriving tourists especially during the 8 pm-2 am peak hours.