In anticipation of the upcoming high season, Thailand’s Tourism Authority (TAT) expressed concerns over the slot capacity at international airports. As extra flights are set to resume, it’s predicted that the country will obtain around eight million vacationers this 12 months, primarily derived from long-haul markets anticipating a major tourism revival.
The deputy governor for Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas of the TAT, Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, forty two years previous, stays hopeful about the revival of international tourism. This optimism arises from the resumption of flights, which are at present at over 70% of the scale observed in 2019, he conveyed.
The TAT’s expectations for overall foreign visitors this 12 months embody at least six million folks from Europe, a million from the Americas, and an estimated half 1,000,000 from the Middle East.
Despite gradual improvements in floor handling issues, the main concerns now lie with the potential overcrowding of flight slots in the course of the cool, or excessive season. Shocking is predicted to succeed in 85% of the 2019 degree, as a end result of a rising variety of airways applying for model new slots at well-liked airports such as Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok and Phuket’s International Airport.
Siripakorn suggested airlines contemplate different international airports in frequented vacationer provinces like Surat Thani, U-Tapao in Rayong, Krabi, and Chiang Mai, to manage the inflow of tourists and alleviate overcrowding on the current terminals.
Last week, the TAT and Taiwan-based provider EVA Air penned a letter of intent, aiming to enhance the number of vacationers flying to Thailand via EVA Air’s community. EVA Air is at present running 28 direct flights weekly between Taipei and Bangkok. Half of these flights provide direct connectivity to London, Amsterdam, and Vienna in Europe reported Bangkok Post.
Quoting EVA Air’s president, Clay Sun, the average load capacity for the Taipei-Bangkok route hits between 85% and 90%, whereas flights from Bangkok to Europe attain roughly 95%. The excessive demand on this route, served by Boeing 777s wide-body plane, comes from travellers from Taiwan, North America, and Europe.
While daily flights between Taipei and Chiang Mai are already operational, EVA Air additionally plans to inaugurate a brand new route to Phuket. However, the aviation industry still wants to handle challenges together with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war impacting fuel prices, the purpose to achieve net-zero emissions within the face of restricted sustainable aviation gas provide, and disruptions in the aviation provide chain..