TAT Plans To Make Hua Hin More Accessible with Additional Flights

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s Prachuap Khiri Khan office aims to discuss additional flights to and from Hua Hin Airport as part of an attempt to boost tourism in the region. Presently, the airport only operates Air Asia flights between Hua Hin and Chiang Mai, but the TAT intends to broaden the airport’s scope by adding additional destinations.

TAT is interested in meeting with airlines in the following weeks to look into the viability of a flight between Hua Hin and Phuket, Hua Hin Today reported. The head of TAT’s Prachuap office, Achawan Kongkanan, disclosed the intentions during a conference at the Amari Hua Hin’s Royal Coast Riviera Club on March 10.

The TAT’s conference with airlines is set for later this month. It is anticipated that the negotiations will lead to an upsurge in flights to and from Hua Hin Airport in the foreseeable future. Phuket has experienced a recent spike in tourism in terms of foreign visitors and hotel occupancy. The TAT intends to capitalize on this by expanding flights to and from Hua Hin.

Achawan also verified the Thai government’s previously announced intentions to implement admission fees for foreign arrivals. Achawan said a 300 baht charge would apply to tourists that arrive by air, while those arriving by sea and land transportation would be charged 150 baht. For air travelers, the fee would be collected when buying airline tickets.

The entry charge will be used to pay an accident and insurance fund for international travelers, with a portion of the earnings also going toward the development of tourist sites and national parks.

Air Asia recently reported that it would operate four weekly flights between Hua Hin and Chiang Mai beginning next month. Flights will run on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays starting in April.

The number of tourists traveling to Prachuap Khiri Khan increased significantly in 2022, with both local and foreign travelers exhibiting a substantial increase.

The data given by TAT showed an approximately five-fold rise in the number of travelers visiting the province in 2022 relative to the previous year.

According to TAT, there were 9,747,884 visitors in Prachuap Khiri Khan in 2022, of which 9,597,432 were domestic tourists and 150,452 were foreign tourists. This is a massive increase from the 2.6 million tourists that visited the province in 2021.

Prachuap Khiri Khan also had a tourism surge over the long weekend earlier this month. The province garnered revenue of roughly 548 million baht, according to TAT.

SOURCE: Thaiger

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