As Thailand’s iconic water festival Songkran kicks off, the country’s cultural celebration has delivered a notable boost to cross-border travel between China and Thailand, with official data showing a sharp uptick in Thai visitor arrivals at Shanghai Pudong International Airport this year.
Figures released by the Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection confirm that between April 8 and April 15, the port processed nearly 20,000 incoming Thai passengers. That figure accounts for 13% of all international arrivals entering China through Pudong International Airport over the period, with an average daily arrival volume topping 2,400 people — marking a 30% increase compared to the same seven-day window in March 2026.
The ongoing travel boom between the two neighboring Southeast and East Asian nations is largely anchored in the mutual visa-free policy that came into force in recent years. Official 2025 full-year data underscores this momentum: the total number of Thai passengers entering China via Pudong International Airport hit 360,000 last year, pushing Thailand to fourth place among all source countries for international arrivals at the port.
Two-way travel flows are equally robust in the opposite direction. In 2025, roughly 680,000 Chinese mainland residents departed for Thailand through Pudong, with around 300 weekly commercial flights connecting the two countries to support sustained demand.
To accommodate the unexpected surge in Thai visitors during the Songkran holiday period, local immigration authorities have rolled out a suite of targeted service adjustments to keep passenger processing efficient and smooth. These measures include real-time dynamic monitoring of arrival passenger flows, pre-inflight reminders for visitors to complete digital entry declarations before landing, dedicated on-site guidance for large tour groups, and specialized volunteer services offering Thai-language assistance to reduce language barriers for incoming travelers.
Industry analysts note that the latest arrival data reflects deepening people-to-people ties between China and Thailand, with cultural festivals acting as a natural catalyst for growth in cross-border tourism, aviation, and related service sectors.