Thailand to welcome over 1,600 flights from China as tourism recovers

Of them, 671 will land this month, with another 970 slated for arrival next month, CAAT President Suttipong Kongpool told The Thaiger.

A total of 269 Chinese flights already arrived in Thailand last month after China reopened its borders after being closed for nearly three years.

China, one of the world's largest outbound tourism markets before the pandemic, allowed its travel agencies to sell group tours to 20 countries, including Thailand, beginning Feb. 6. Vietnam was not on the list.

Thanks to the lifting of Covid travel restrictions and a friendly visa policy, Thailand received over 11 million foreign arrivals last year.

The Thai government is targeting 30 million arrivals this year, including seven million Chinese tourists.

In 2019, Thailand welcomed 40 million international tourist arrivals, with Chinese accounting for more than a quarter of the number.