Krabi, 6 December, 2016 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pleased to welcome the launch of Qatar Airways’ first direct flights to the Andaman province of Krabi in southern Thailand.
The province, famous for its stunning coastline and islands, will host four-weekly flights via an Airbus A330-200, direct from Doha.
This new route shows the increasing popularity of Krabi and its airport, which is now serviced by direct flights from nations in Europe and ASEAN as well as China.
Mr. Marwan Koleilat, Qatar Airways Senior Vice President of Asia Pacific, and His Excellency Mr. Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum, Thai Ambassador to Qatar, travelled on the inaugural flight to Krabi on 6 December, 2016.
They and other passengers were given a grand welcome in Krabi by Mr. Chalermsak Suranant, Director of TAT Dubai and Middle East Office; Mr. Nob Kongpun, Vice Governor of Krabi; and Mr. Attaporn Nuang-Udom, Director of Krabi International Airport.
Mr. Chalermsak Suranant, Director of TAT Dubai and Middle East Office said, “These flights will give a huge boost to our tourism promotional campaigns. We’d certainly be able to diversify both the sources of visitor arrivals across the rapidly growing Qatar Airways network and the choice of destinations within Thailand. These are among our strategic plans for 2017.
“We’d like to thank the senior management of Qatar Airways for their visionary and initiative, and we look forward to working with the airline on campaigns to promote Krabi and South Thailand,” He added.
Mr. Nob Kongpun, Vice Governor of Krabi said, “Qatar Airways’ flights to Krabi will give a significant boost to our province and indeed the entire economy of Southern Thailand, especially to help small-and-medium-sized enterprises, such as, our unique guest-houses, lodges and handicrafts companies; as well as create hundreds of new jobs across the entire region.”
The new flights, which come just before the Christmas/New Year 2016-17 festive season, is also expected to help the Krabi tourism industry upgrade the quality of its products and services to cater to the new demand.
Krabi becomes Qatar Airways’ third destination in Thailand after Bangkok, which was launched 20 years ago in 1996, and Phuket in 2010. The airline has firm plans to begin services to Chiang Mai in 2017.
Krabi is one of Thailand’s fastest growing destinations. From January to October 2016, international and domestic passenger arrivals at Krabi International airport totalled 1,701,454, up 19.7 per cent from 1,366,554 arrivals in the same period of last year.
