AS THAILAND continues to reign as the most popular South-east Asian destination for Europeans, TUI Travel has unveiled plans to shore up traffic there via a host of new direct charter flights.
Speaking at a press conference held at Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre yesterday, Peter Long, CEO, TUI Travel, said: “We are very excited by the opportunities in Thailand, which is TUI’s largest charter market, followed by India and the Maldives.”
To build on the continued interest in beach resorts, TUI Travel’s Thomson Airways will launch the UK’s first direct flight to Phuket from London’s Gatwick Airport in November 2013 on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
According to Garry Wilson, TUI Travel managing director-mainstream purchasing, sales for the London-Phuket segment had been “very strong” since commencing in November 2012, with UK customer volume expected to hit 7,000 in the first year.
He added: “We are also looking to launch direct flights from multiple points in the UK such as Manchester, as well as to other Thai destinations, with Krabi being an obvious choice.”
Meanwhile, TUI Germany is also considering direct flights from cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt and Hamburg in 2014, said Christian Clemens, CEO, TUI Germany.
He remarked: “In 2012, we sent 90,000 German customers to Thailand, the biggest longhaul destination for TUI, which also sees more repeat visitors than the surrounding countries. Phuket, Krabi and, increasingly, Khao Lak are the most popular destinations in Thailand, followed by Bangkok.”
“As one of the first tour operators in the country, going back 25 years, we have changed the Nordic market’s perception of Thailand as a backpacker’s paradise to that of a family favourite,” said Henrik Norlin, CEO of TUI Nordic, which handled 200,000 customers from the Nordic region last year.
Noting that the dominance of certain markets to popular Thai beach destinations may impact the visitor experience, Norlin commented: “Maintaining a good mix is always a challenge, so we will choose suitable hotels which do not have an overwhelming presence of Chinese or Russian tourists. Khao Lak has been gaining Nordic travellers as they move away from Phuket.”
