The China Tourism Academy says Thailand remains the favorite destination for Chinese tourists this year. However, many of those visitors arrive to find long queues and delays, as the Kingdom's antiquated airports struggle to deal with the record number of arrivals. CGTN's Tony Cheng has more from Bangkok.

Famous the world over for its long sandy beaches, clear sea and serene culture. For many, Thailand is the destination of their dreams. So it's a rude awakening to be met by this-huge queues at immigration, hour-long waits and airports that can't cope with 25% more passengers than they were designed for. That's a big problem for Thailand's tourist industry. They've had huge success increasing tourist numbers, estimated to be close to 40 million this year, but the infrastructure just hasn't kept up.

THONGYOO SUPHAVITTAYAKORN ASSOCIATION OF THAI TRAVEL AGENTS "As it stands, international airports all over the country need to increase capacity by at least 30 percent just to deal with existing arrivals."

At Bangkok's main airport, work is underway to alleviate the problem. A new satellite terminal at Suvarnabhumi. Appropriately it's being built by Chinese contractors. Arrivals from China have increased dramatically over the past decade and are expected to top ten million this year. The new satellite terminal will accommodate 28 extra planes, increasing the number of planes taking off from 68 to over 90 per hour.

TONY CHENG BANGKOK "This is going to be a new station for an automated train system, bringing passengers from the existing terminal over here to the satellite, increasing the capacity of Suvarnabhumi airport by 15 million people a year. But some say, with Thailands large number of tourist arrivals, that's still not going to be enough."

And the airport has even more ambitious plans with bids for a second terminal currently under consideration by the government. Thailand is keen to see off competition from Cambodia, about to start construction of the 9th largest airport in the world.

ANAN WANGCHINGCHAI EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, AIRPORTS OF THAILAND "The project is now underway. We think we can maintain our leadership in this region by increasing the capacity of Suvarnabhumi airport."

And it's not just Suvanabhumi. New terminals in Chiang Mai, and Phuket have already been approved. And later this year, 6 provincial airports will be handed over to the private sector for development and expansion. But all of this will take time, an estimated 5 years until the main airports can handle their current capacity. And with an ambitious goal of 65 million tourists by the end of the next decade, the crowds will just get worse. Tony Cheng, CGTN, Bangkok.