Europeans Fuel September Gain

BANGKOK: International tourist arrivals at Bangkok International Airport registered a 17.8 percent year-on-year gain in September, the Tourism Authority of Thailand announced. European markets, led by the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, contributed to the double-digit increase. A total of 29,315 UK tourists arrived at the airport during the month, a gain of more than 10,000 arrivals compared to September last year. Denmark, Norway and Sweden each recorded double-digit, year-on-year increases. Arrivals from Denmark were up 34 percent; Norway, up 55 percent; and Sweden, up 43 percent. Arrivals from France increased 27 percent, while American and Canadian tourist arrivals posted gains of 16 percent and 27 percent, respectively. A total of 20,194 Australians arrived at Bangkok International Airport in September, a 24 percent increase over the same month last year when 16,257 arrivals were recorded. The East Asian market was up 11 percent overall, boosted by a 50 percent gain in arrivals from China and a 22 percent increase in Japanese tourists. During September, a total of 38,116 Chinese tourists were recorded at the airport, along with 84,968 Japanese. Arrivals from Korea and Taiwan were down 37 percent and nine percent, respectively, from a year ago. During the first nine months of this year, a total of 4,126,775 international tourist arrivals were recorded at Bangkok International Airport, a 6.5 percent increase over the same period in 1997.