THAILAND/AUSTRIA. The Thai resort of Phuket is to get a tourist fillip as Austrian Airlines is set to launch direct flights between Vienna and the southern province. This will mean an additional 14,000 European visitors to the southern resort island each year.
Josef Berger, the airline’s Head of Commercial Operations, said the twice-weekly flights would begin on 4 November. A third flight per week will be introduced the following month.
The airline said the launch of the new service was a way of helping Phuket rebuild its tourism industry following the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami.
The new route is expected to attract an additional 14,000 European visitors to Phuket and the Andaman provinces each year, boosting foreign revenue in the region by more than Bt400-500 million.
The Austrian Airlines decision was applauded by Suwalai Pinpradap, Director of the local southern office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, who described the move as an excellent way to promote tourism.
She was also confident that other European airlines would resume flights to the southern island, which has seen a huge loss in the number of airlines operating there since the Tsunami.
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