More flights added between Thailand and China amid surging demand

Spring Airlines of China will sharply increase flights between China and Thailand to cater to the soaring number of visitors, boosting the total flights between the two countries to 82 per week, the company announced on Monday.

As tourist arrivals boom over the past weeks, Spring Airlines also announced to increase flights for two busy routes--one connecting Bangkok to Jieyang city in South China's Guangdong province while another connecting Bangkok to Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province.

Starting from Mar 26, airlines in China will enter a seasonal change and the Spring Airlines will also resume direct flight between Bangkok and Chengdu in Southeast China, said the company's spokesman Zhang Wuan.

"Since China announced the resumption of outbound group tour services early this year that were suspended for about three years due to the COVID, Thailand has been ranking among the top favorite destinations for Chinese tourists," Zhang said.

"China is now stepping into spring, a season of revival. And we've already seen hopes in the two country's tourism industry in near future," he added.

In a courtesy call to Phuket governor last week, Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Han Zhiqiang estimated that Chinese tourist arrivals will rise to more than 300,000 in April. Early this year, Tourism Authority of Thailand said they were hoping to have a total of 5 million arrivals from China in 2023.