Bangkok (People’s Daily) – Holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport who travel by air have been allowed to use automatic channels to enter Thailand from September 15 this year, according to a statement by Thailand’s immigration bureau.

The opening ceremony of the self-service customs clearance for passengers from Hong Kong, China. (Photos: People's Daily/ Sun Guangyong)

The Royal Thai Police Department held the opening ceremony of the " Self-service Customs Clearance Pass for Passengers of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China" at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

Suthiphon, the head of the Immigration Bureau of Royal Thai Police Department, said that the bureau is very pleased to be able to provide self-service customs clearance channels for visitors with HKSAR passports.

Tourists from Hong Kong, China, enter Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport through a self-service customs clearance channel.

The first batch of Chinese Hong Kong passengers who enjoyed the automatic customs clearance inspection route arrived at 10:50 am on the CX717 flight. They used the self-checking channel to complete the clearance in 20 seconds per passenger. The ordinary channel takes at least 45 seconds.

Prior to this, Thailand had opened the self-check customs clearance to Thai people and passengers with Singapore passports. It is planning to do it for more travelers from other nations.

It is reported that more than 700,000 tourists from Hong Kong visited Thailand in 2017, and the number is expected to reach 1 million in 2018.