PHUKET: More holidaymakers led by the Chinese are expected to visit the resort island through its airport during the Chinese New Year break this year.
Phuket airport general manager Plt Off Thani Chuangchu said on Thursday about 637,000 passengers will arrive at the airport during the holiday from Feb 2-10, a 4% increase from the same period of last year.
More than 60% of the arrivals, or about 387,000, will be foreigners, led by the Chinese. The rest are air travellers flying on domestic flights, he added.
The estimation is based on the number of flights with confirmed schedules to the airport.
Almost 1,900 international flights will land at the airport during the holiday period, most of them direct flights from China, including China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines and Sichuan Airlines.
Phuket airport services 70,000 incoming and departing passengers a day.
The Chinese New Year falls on Feb 5 this year. Millions of Chinese have left cities in China for their hometowns for the holiday. Many use the long break for overseas trips, with Thailand one of their international destinations.
Last year, the Chinese still led all foreign arrivals to Thailand with 10.5 million, up 7% from 2017. The Tourism and Sports Ministry planned to woo more than 11 million tourists from China this year.