Visitor arrivals at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport totalled 1,196,502 in December 2010, a good growth of 5.81% over December 2009 and up 19.18% over the year 2008.

According to preliminary information from the Immigration Bureau, the figures showed significant daily growth due to the long holiday periods; such as, 2 December 2010, up to 20.93% over the same day in 2009, followed by further increases of +16.62% (9 December), +19.45% (16 December), +14.09% (23 December) and +17.98% (30 December).

Governor Mr Suraphon Svetasreni commented, “This excellent result in the final month of 2010 has allowed the Thai tourism industry to recover from the political unrest and achieve beyond its initial set targets.

“However, thanks to the hard work of all the government agencies, THAI Airways and all the airlines serving Thailand, the private sector, and all our supporters and partners abroad, we have been able to make a remarkable recovery and end our 50th anniversary year on a positive note.”

After all the numbers are tallied from other international points of entry, especially the southern border with Malaysia and the Phuket International Airport, TAT is projecting to end 2010 with roughly 15.7-15.8 million international visitor arrivals, up from arrivals of 14.14 million in 2009.

The Governor said there is no doubt that the underlying strengths of the Thai tourism industry have once again proved their worth.

“The traditional friendliness and hospitality of the Thai people, our excellent products and value for money, plus all the great marketing campaigns launched by the industry as a whole all came together to pull off what must be one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the history of Thai tourism,” Mr Suraphon said.

Ministry of Tourism and Sports figures show that international passengers arriving at Suvarnabhumi International Airport plunged from a high of 1,113,597 in January 2010 to 464,124 in the crisis month of May 2010. However, arrivals resumed an upward trend almost immediately after the political turmoil ended, to 1,328,000 in July 2010 and 1,007,322 in November.