AirAsia Wins Friends of Thailand Awards Cited for contributions to tourism

Monday 29 September 2008 17:12
Bangkok--29 Sep--AirAsia
For actively contributing to the growth of Thailand’s tourism industry and for helping the country uphold its reputation as a premier tourist destination, AirAsia Group airlines AirAsia Berhad and Indonesia AirAsia reaped honours at the prestigious Friends of Thailand Awards 2008.
AirAsia Berhad and Indonesia AirAsia were named winners in the Category for International Airlines for outstanding contributions to Thailand’s tourism industry in the years 2006 and 2007. The awards, given by Tourism Authority of Thailand every two years, recognize the most outstanding supporters of Thailand’s tourism industry. Both airlines actively publicized Thailand’s many attractions, launched travel promotions and offered low fares that drew more tourists to the country.
H.E. Weerasak Kowsurat, Tourism and Sports Minister of Thailand, presented the awards in a ceremony on September 27 at Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre, Central World, Bangkok.
Tony Fernandes, chief executive of AirAsia Group, said, “It is a great honour for us to be recognized by no less than the Thai government for our contributions to Thailand’s tourism industry. We are proud to carry Thailand as a destination. We remain committed to growing Bangkok as a tourism hub, and we expect that, with our success in this, we can fly even more guests from Bangkok to our other destinations inside and outside Thailand. Thailand’s increasing popularity plays a huge part in helping us achieve our goal of promoting tourism in the whole ASEAN region.”
Captain Dharmadi, chief executive of Indonesia AirAsia, said, “Thailand is a solid market. Its unique cultural attractions, tourist-friendly facilities, shopping bargains and variety of dining options put it high on the list of our guests’ preferred travel destinations. We will continue to promote Thailand. We look forward to flying from Indonesia to more Thai cities, and we are confident that when we do this, the routes will be as successful as our Jakarta-Bangkok route has been.”
Every week, AirAsia Group operates 400 international flights that directly connect Thailand to the rest of Southeast Asia and China. AirAsia Group has direct international flights to the Thai cities of Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Krabi. Within Thailand, AirAsia Group’s Bangkok-based affiliate, Thai AirAsia, operates 378 flights each week. Bangkok is a very popular hub of AirAsia Group.
About AirAsia
AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network in South East Asia with over 105 routes. Within the grasp of six years of operation, AirAsia has carried over 50 million passengers and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to 72. The airline today is proud to be a truly ASEAN airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, servicing a network stretching across 11 ASEAN countries.
AirAsia was recognised as one of the Top 50 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company Magazine and the winner of the prestigious Airline Strategy Award 2008 in the Finance Category.
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