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Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai brace for Mainland tourist onslaught
July 7th 2017
The undiminished appetite of Mainland tourists for overseas travel is causing capacity and infrastructure bottlenecks at many of the region’s smaller airports. Read More »
After relations between China and South Korea soured earlier this year over the deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defence system in South Korea, Mainland tourists have increasingly flocked to Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Chiang Rai, in Northern Thailand, only used to receive domestic flights from Bangkok but in recent years, several overseas airlines have added the city to their route maps, which has prompted the Airports of Thailand (AOT) to consider building a new passenger terminal at the city’s airport. Chiang Rai Airport is expected to grow at 20% this year.
HK Express began flying between Hong Kong and Chiang Rai last December. Beijing Capital Airlines launched flights from Haikou in March and Sichuan Airlines will offer a new route to Chengdu from next week. These new routes will be followed by Loong Air from Hangzhou on July 15. Thai Lion Air and NewGen Airways have received approval to operate numerous charter services from Chiang Rai to several Mainland cities in July and August.
At larger Chiang Mai Airport, the airfield is struggling to cope with the large influx of Mainland tourists. While Chiang Rai traffic is restricted to smaller single aisle planes, an increasing number of airlines fly wide bodies to Chiang Mai. Qatar Airways has Doha to Chiang Mai from October 31, which is the airport’s first scheduled long-haul service.
In Southern Thailand, Krabi is about to expand. The airport receives countless scheduled services from the Mainland, including flights from Juneyao Airlines, Okay Airways, China Eastern Airlines and Spring Airlines, but also Qatar Airways, Finnair, TUI and Thomson Airways.
In 2016, Krabi Airport handled 4.1 million passengers. The airport terminal was designed for an annual throughout of 3 million passengers.
