The Krabi Immigration Office at Krabi Airport has welcomed Chinese tourists, including more exclusive visa checkpoint lanes.
Krabi Immigration Office chief Col Suparueak Pankomon welcomed 138 Chinese tourists who were arriving with a charter flight on Uron Airlines from China.
It is part of the recent “charm offensive” to encourage Chinese tourists to visit Thailand and restore their confidence in the region’s safety following last month’s disaster when 47 Chinese tourists drowned.
Suparueak said: “The number of Chinese tourists visiting Krabi has decreased since the boat disaster in Phuket. We have added two more visa lanes for Chinese tourists. So now we have four visa checkpoint lanes for Chinese tourists at the airport. Each Chinese tour group is now only taking 30 minutes to process.
“We have been asking Chinese tourists at the airport and they say that they knew about the boat disaster in Phuket. They understand that it was an accident and natural disaster.
“They are not afraid because most Chinese tourists love Thailand, the sea and Thai food. Many of them return to Thailand every year.”