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The northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, known as the Rose of the North, is set to get a major tourism boost with the launch of a direct Tiger Airways` flight…
The northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, known as the Rose of the North, is set to get a major tourism boost with the launch of a direct Tiger Airways` flight from Singapore.
Tiger Airways, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, inaugurated its first Singapore-Chiang Mai route service on February 18, 2005 offering 3,000 tickets at a bargain price of S$9.98.
The four weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, is expected to see a surge in Chiang Mai`s popularity among Singaporeans and the large number of expatriates residing there.
Nicknamed the Rose of the North, Chiang Mai is Thailand`s northern capital. As part of the marketing campaigns of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for 2005, Chiang Mai is being promoted as a cultural destination, a health and wellness city, a city of unique handicrafts and a gateway to the Greater Mekong Subregion countries.
TAT Governor Mrs Juthamas Siriwan said, The direct flights will not only increase travel to Chiang Mai but also open up other destinations in north Thailand, such as the exotic provinces of Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son and Lampang, as well as our neighbouring countries of Myanmar and Laos.
She said the new flights fit in very well with TAT`s cluster development policy, which involves promoting tourism to areas around the popular tourist destinations in order to prevent congestion there, while distributing visitors to new areas they may not have previously seen.
Over the past few years, the Royal Thai government has poured billions of baht worth of investment to upgrade Chiang Mai`s infrastructure and tourism products to accelerate its transformation into a regional transportation hub for the Greater Mekong Subregion.
In 2003, visitor arrivals from Singapore to Thailand totalled 633,805. Between January and October 2004, the arrivals figure totalled 574,732, up 23.61% over the same period of 2003.
In addition to Chiang Mai, Tiger Airways is also flying to Phuket.
There, it has joined hands with TAT to promote tourism by offering 20,000 special low-fare one-way tickets to the island paradise at a special rate of S$9.98.
Optimistic about Phuket`s recovery, Tiger Airways soon plans to add a second flight daily from Singapore to Phuket.
Ms Eumporn Jiragalwisul, Director of TAT office in Singapore said, The TAT is pleased with the encouraging results of its joint promotion with Tiger Airways. Visitors are starting to come back to Phuket`s many attractive hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions and entertainment outlets.
TAT has also received support from the Phuket Tourist Business Association to provide special room rates for Tiger Airways` passengers in order to enhance the overall appeal of the promotional package.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
