Holidaymakers have been advised to arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport two or three hours before their scheduled departure time during Christmas and New year holiday week due to an increase in the number of passengers.
The number of visitors passing through Bangkok's international airport from Christmas Day to Jan 5, 2013 is expected to increase to 1.88 million, or 156,000 passengers a day, said Vilaiwan Nadvilai, director of Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The airport handled 1.84 million travellers at the same time last year.
About 84% of passengers entering and leaving the Kingdom during the 12-day period are foreign holidaymakers, Ms Vilaiwan said.
“We ask for passengers’ cooperation to arrive at the airport at least two or three hours before their flights. Passengers can call 1722 for inquiries or contact information service counters at the airport 24 hours a day," she said.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Authority said Thailand will record 21.8 million foreign visitor arrivals this year, after lower figures during last year's flooding and the political upheavals in 2010.
Visitors were up 13% from 2011 and generating revenue estimated at 930 billion baht (US$30 billion) by year's end.
The number is expected to grow by another 10% to 24 million in 2013, despite ongoing economic difficulties in Europe and the United States.
For the January-to-November period the number of foreign arrivals had increased 13.57% from a year earlier to 19.76 million.
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