IN BRIEF
More British, Irish tourists in Kingdom
The London office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand has released figures showing that last year the number of British and Irish arrivals to the Kingdom reached an impressive 730,984 - 680,978 British and 50,006 Irish - up 7.73 per cent from the previous year.
December was the busiest month in 2005, with 77,215 arrivals, up 9.96 per cent year on year, followed by March and November. Arrivals of older visitors grew in particular, with travellers aged 45 to 54 up 14.1 per cent to 105,750, those aged 55 to 64 up 5 per cent to 76,646, and 65 and above up 19.6 per cent to 31,003.
Longer visa on arrival for visitors to Laos The Lao Foreign Ministry has introduced an extendable 30-day visa on arrival, replacing the previous 15-day period. Laos reported 1.09 million arrivals last year, up 22 per cent from 2004. Of those, the majority - 60 per cent - were Thai. The vast majority of visitors to Laos enter from Thailand, either from across the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai or by air via Bangkok to the airports at Vientiane and Luang Prabang. The visa fee for most nationalities remains unchanged at US$30 (Bt1,100). Thai nationals pay only $15.
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