Some 5.1 million people are expected to travel during this year's Songkran Festival, generating over 23 billion baht in revenue -- a 26.3% increase from last year's figures.
Citing a survey by Kasikorn Research Centre, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said 44.7% of Bangkok residents are planning to travel, either to their hometowns or other destinations, during the Thai New Year holiday period.
"Over 5 million people will travel this week, which is a 28.9% increase compared to the number of travellers in the same period last year," he said.
Airports of Thailand (AoT) expects to see 2.37 million people travelling through its airports, an increase of 137.5% per last year's figures.
Out of the total, 1.37 million people will travel internationally, while the rest will travel within the country.
As such, travellers should arrive at least 2–3 hours before their scheduled departure time to ensure they have enough time to pre-flight formalities and procedures, he said.
He also said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had advised the public to get a Covid-19 booster shot before the holiday starts as well as strictly following Covid-19 prevention measures to avoid infection.
"Gen Prayut hoped that the public is prepared for the summer heat and urged motorists to follow traffic rules to avoid accidents," he added.
Meanwhile, the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) has disclosed the results of its pre-Songkran crackdown, which resulted in the arrest of 318 people.
CCIB spokesman Pol Col Kissana Phatthanacharoen said scammers and criminals are ramping up activities during the long holiday, when people are more likely to lower their guard.
As such, between March 29 and April 9, the CCIB moved to crack down on gambling, drugs, illegal immigration, firearms violations among other crimes.
The bureau also cracked down on cybercrimes such as fake online shopping, computer-related scams, sex trafficking, online gambling and other transnational crimes.
Pol Col Kissana said 17 locations across the country were raided during the week.
Officers arrested suspects who ran online gambling sites, sold fake Buddhist amulets and firearms online.
He added people should be careful of online threats from call-centre gangs, mobile-app scams, online shopping fraud, and other scams involving money transfer requests, job postings and cryptocurrency investments.
People who travel to their hometown or tourist destinations during the Songkran Festival should be on guard against possible scammers on planes, trains or buses, as public transport was fair game for crooks, Pol Col Kissana said on Sunday.
