EXTRA berths at Immigration at Phuket Airport are being used for the first time this week as tourists arrive and depart in greater numbers.
The enlarged exit and entry operation has come just in time, with newly released figures for October showing a 14 percent rise in international arrivals at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok.
Phuket's arrival and departure figures, already published on Phuketwan, reflect a similar encouraging outlook.
At the Bangkok airport, the total number of arrivals from overseas in October jumped to 862,263. Much of this improvement was generated by the markets Thailand and Phuket have been hoping to regenerate: East Asia and Europe.
Even more encouraging, tourist numbers from South Asia increased by 34.17 percent, with India (53,890) leading the way at 35 percent.
The big improvers were the traditional markets that Phuket perhaps cherishes more than most: China (64,480) up 79.94 percent, Hong Kong (27,821) up 84.35 percent and Taiwan (31,281) up 51.03 percent.
Numbers from Malaysia and Singapore also improved. Europe as a whole lifted by 13.82 percent, with Russia (27,073) up by 45.21 percent and East Europe (13,471) rising by 32.67 percent.
Britain (59,640) remained the leading European nation, jumping 9.30 percent, with Germany (42,901) up 11.66 percent. Australian arrivals (44,041) remained steady, along with the US (47,668).
The increases reflect the global economic recovery and the sense, at least in October, that Thailand's alarming political tensions may be easing.
The enlarged exit and entry operation has come just in time, with newly released figures for October showing a 14 percent rise in international arrivals at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok.
Phuket's arrival and departure figures, already published on Phuketwan, reflect a similar encouraging outlook.
At the Bangkok airport, the total number of arrivals from overseas in October jumped to 862,263. Much of this improvement was generated by the markets Thailand and Phuket have been hoping to regenerate: East Asia and Europe.
Even more encouraging, tourist numbers from South Asia increased by 34.17 percent, with India (53,890) leading the way at 35 percent.
The big improvers were the traditional markets that Phuket perhaps cherishes more than most: China (64,480) up 79.94 percent, Hong Kong (27,821) up 84.35 percent and Taiwan (31,281) up 51.03 percent.
Numbers from Malaysia and Singapore also improved. Europe as a whole lifted by 13.82 percent, with Russia (27,073) up by 45.21 percent and East Europe (13,471) rising by 32.67 percent.
Britain (59,640) remained the leading European nation, jumping 9.30 percent, with Germany (42,901) up 11.66 percent. Australian arrivals (44,041) remained steady, along with the US (47,668).
The increases reflect the global economic recovery and the sense, at least in October, that Thailand's alarming political tensions may be easing.
