The number of tourists arriving in Thailand is expected to increase sharply now the government has ended the Test & Go entry scheme on May 1, and with more airlines tipped to resume services to the country soon.
Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul, citing the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand's (CAAT) data, said there are now 44,500 flights operating from the nation's airports a month, 11,000 of which are scheduled international flights.
CAAT is expecting the figure to increase to 83,500 flights per month, 30,000 of them international flights, by the end of the year.
The spokeswoman said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has been closely following the work of immigration officers at all airports' arrival terminals since the country fully reopened on Sunday.
"At Suvarnabhumi airport everything is going as planned, though some areas were found to be packed, such as the Thailand Pass checkpoint," she said, adding Airports of Thailand (AoT) will coordinate with immigration officers to address overcrowding in the arrivals hall.
She went on to remind tourists who have not completed their Covid vaccinations to bring a valid pre-travel RT-PCR test result, otherwise they will be required to undergo quarantine.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said 16,355 international visitors arrived in Thailand through AoT-run airports on Monday -- 12,660 visitors arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport, 747 at Don Mueang International Airport, 2,318 at Phuket International Airport, 234 at Chiangmai International Airport and 576 at Hat Yai International Airport.
Mr Saksayam said 16,681 tourists will arrive through the five airports today, while 17,770 are expected to arrive tomorrow.
Separately, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul repeated his call to have Covid-19 declared as an endemic disease in Thailand, saying it is necessary to drive the economy.
Mr Anutin also said that the ministry will continue to work towards ensuring the country is ready to declare Covid-19 an endemic disease, adding it will also expedite the easing measures put in place to curb the spread of the disease.
The Tourism and Sports Ministry estimated that about 7 million tourists will arrive in Thailand this year, below its target of 8-10 million.
According to its estimates, this year Thailand stands to gain about 30% of the tourism revenues that it took in 2019 before the pandemic hit.