KOCHI: Amid fears of escalating prices, the 'high-flying' Malayalees have something to cheer for. Another airline company is looking to start services from Kochi to Thailand in the wake of a substantial rise in the number of holiday revellers flocking to the famous international tourist destination.Tourism Authority of Thailand director Soraya Homcheun told Express, "We are in consultation with the Thai Smile Airline company to start services connecting Kochi with Bangkok. Last year, around 1.19 million Indians have travelled to Thailand to chill out in the holiday destinations over there. Out of that, close to three per cent of tourists were from Kerala."
Thai Smile is a low-cost budget airline expected to increase traffic to Thailand from Kerala and vice versa. "Details like the number of services in a week and the type of aircraft to be used will be known only after the end of the consultations," she said.Currently, Thai Air Asia is the main operator at the Cochin International Airport, flying seven times in week between Kochi and Bangkok.
According to a survey conducted by Hotels.comTM, the global hotel bookings expert, Bangkok was the most preferred international destination among Indians. The Thailand capital bagged the top spot in the first half of 2016 while Pattaya bagged the fourth spot, followed by Phuket. In short, South East Asian destinations - such as Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket in Thailand - continue to appeal to Indians travelling overseas.
Buttressing the growing popularity of 'the land of white elephants' among Malayalees, Thai AirAsia clarified they have carried about 35,000 guests from Kochi to Bangkok since its launch in 2016.
According to authorities at CIAL - the main transit hub from Kerala to various Far East destinations, there are around 60 flights per week to various South East Asia destinations, including Colombo. Until a few years ago, there were only a handful of services to these destinations from Kochi. However, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore have the most number of flight services from Kochi with 25 and 13 weekly departures respectively.