BANGKOK, Dec 25 (Bernama) -- "Love At First Sight" is the reaction that Thailand wants to see from travellers arriving in the country, but at the same time it wants only "Good Guys In, Bad Guys Out".
Various daily programmes are held daily since Dec 24 until Jan 4 as the Thai authorities entertain travellers who arrive in the country through its major airports - Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and Phuket.
Police Lieutenant General Nathathorn Prousoonthorn, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said the "Love at First Sight" campaign was to provide entertainment activities to arriving tourists during the period.
Speaking at the launching of the campaign, he said there would also be over 100 undercover officers deployed at the airport (Suvarnabhumi International Airport) to monitor suspicious groups that could adversely affect the country's security.
Suvarnabhumi International Airport director Siroj Duangrat said from Dec 24 to Jan 5, there would be 222 chartered flights and regular flights daily and the airport expected to handle about 172,700 passengers per day.
He said international passengers would number about 142,800 and domestic passengers at 29,900, about 20 per cent higher than during normal periods.
"Those on long flights need some rest. That is why we put on some music," said Police Major General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, commander of Immigration Division 2, and whose responsibility includes Suvarnabhumi Airport.
"The travellers will not be queueing for one to two hours. It will take half an hour at the most," he said, adding that the number of Immigration officers at the airport had been increased to the maximum.
He said on average, five to 10 people of various nationalities were denied entry daily at Suvarnabhumi Airport, a small fraction compared with the total number of visitors coming in.
About 35 million people travel through Suvarnabhumi Airport annually.
Thatchai said that having fallen in love with Thailand, about 4,000 to 5,000 tourists had been overstaying and could be blacklisted from entering the kingdom for three years or more when the authorities started looking for them in three months.
-- BERNAMA
Source: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/bu/newsbusiness.php?id=1202131
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