With the opening of Bangkok’s new international airport only a year away, the nation’s tourism and aviation industries are already making preparations to use the new hub…
With the opening of Bangkok’s new international airport only a year away, the nation’s tourism and aviation industries are already making preparations to use the new hub, while the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pinning its hopes on Suvarnabhumi Airport as a means of pulling in more tourists and airlines.
Speaking at a seminar which equated the success of Thailand’s tourism industry with the success of the new airport, TAT governor Juthamas Siriwann said that the nation’s aviation and tourism players had now laid down strategies to prepare for the scheduled opening of Suvarnabhumpi Airport in September next year.
For its part, the TAT will promote Thailand as the place of ‘tourism happiness on earth’, while designating the Kingdom as the ‘tourism capital of Asia’ and the regional aviation hub.
In the future, Mrs. Juthamas said, the new airport would serve to attract increasing numbers of visitors and airlines to the Kingdom.
Her words found resonance from international organizations, with David Inglis from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) highlighting the potential of Suvarnabhumi Airport to cope with the demand for regional air transport.
However, Mr. Inglis noted that appropriate airport usage fees were vital for the airport’s success, saying that even minor changes in usage fees could have a major impact on an airline’s decision on whether or not to fly to a particular airport.
He warned that the planned higher usage fees for the new airport were likely to be detrimental in the long run, with airlines spurning any airports which failed to boost their profits.
Other officials from IATA spoke of the need for Thailand’s airport fees to be competitive, while also stressing that the new airport needed to meet the needs of passengers.
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