Tourism Associations of Phuket and Samui seek direct flights with Kazakhstan

The Tourism Associations of Phuket Province and Surat Thani’s Samui Island, will join the “Amazing Road Show to Kazakhstan 2015” organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in the Kazakh cities of Almaty and Astana from 15 to 20 June in order to open new tourist markets.

Vice President of the Phuket Tourism Association Bhuritt Maswongssa said that tens of thousands of Kazakhs travelled to Phuket each year. Most of them come to the island in the high season, by charter flights as no direct flight is available at present.

If an official effort to open direct flights between the two countries is successful, it will definitely raise the number of tourist arrivals from Kazakhstan, Mr. Bhuritt said, adding that a direct flight would also promote a year-round tourism as it will motivate more Kazakhs to visit Thailand in the low season.

According to Mr. Bhuritt, representatives of the Phuket Tourism Association will meet with CEOs of Air Astana, the national airline of Kazakhstan, on 17 June to discuss a possibility of opening a Phuket-Astana direct flight.

On 19 June, Thai delegates are scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Kazakh Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism in order to exchange views and information about their tourism industry and future cooperation.