(Yicai) March 1 -- The start of the agreement between China and Thailand on reciprocal 30-day visa waivers from today sparked another surge in interest in travel between the two countries.

Travel bookings to China from Thailand soared 300 percent today, compared with a year earlier, according to Trip.com statistics. Flight reservations to Thailand from China for the middle of this month surged 80 percent from a year ago and 70 percent from the pre-pandemic level of 2019, data from Ly.com showed. Searches for Bangkok-bound flights jumped 70 percent this week from a week ago, per figures from Qunar.com.

More than one million Chinese tourists have already visited Thailand since the start of this year, the most from any country or region, and under the bilateral deal that came into force today, Chinese and Thai passport holders can now stay in each other's country for up to 30 days without a visa.

But the number of flights between the two destinations rose to only 7,163 in February, 62 percent of what it was in the same month of 2019, according to data from Flight Manager, an app developed by Shenzhen-based Huo Li Tian Hui Technology.  

China to Thailand flights increased last month compared with less than 50 percent in January from the level of 2019, but remain below the rate of other countries and regions. For example, China-Europe flights were back at 84 percent, while those from China to the United Kingdom and the Middle East were higher than before the pandemic.

China Eastern Airlines operates the most China-Thailand flights among carriers, but they also have only returned to 70 percent of the pre-pandemic level. The rate for Thailand's AirAsia, which ranks second, has rebounded to 61 percent, while that of the third-ranked carrier, China's Spring Airlines, has bounced back to 77 percent. 

Chinese tourists favored destinations in the northwest and southeast of Asia for the lunar new year holiday, with Thailand, South Korea, and Japan welcoming the most flights and passengers, according to Tang Chao, a civil aviation professional. But the global market will continue to face insufficient demand this year, he told Yicai.

Demand will drop after the Chinese New Year travel period, known as the Spring Festival travel rush, Tang predicted. Outbound flights may recover to between 80 percent and 85 percent by the time of this summer's school break and likely reach 80 percent to 90 percent by year-end, Tang added, noting that airfares will slowly fall back to the level of before the pandemic.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Martin Kadiev