Direct Indian flights to Phuket set to boost tourism

Five direct flights a week from Mumbai and Delhi began this month.
Jeh Wadia, managing director of GoAir, said: “Phuket is our first international route. The level of interest from Indian travellers has been excellent. Thanks to Gulu Lalvani [chairman of Royal Phuket Marina], who convinced me to open up Phuket to the Indian market, we are making Phuket our Thai hub. 
"We already have routes from Mumbai and Delhi to Phuket, and by the end of next year we will increase this to 10 cities flying direct to Phuket."
India’s more than 1.3 billion people have a rapidly growing appetite for international travel. The World Bank said almost 22 million Indians travelled overseas in 2017 while the UN World Tourism Organisation predicts that India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020.  
Lalvani said: “I have been looking at India for a number of years and India holds great potential for Phuket. Indians are already familiar with Thailand, but never before have there been direct flights into Phuket. 
"Having worked closely with GoAir and highlighting Phuket's potential to them, I am very excited to see Jeh Wadia and his team have invested in Phuket and think this is the beginning of great things for the island.”
Rising numbers of Indians will help to soften the impact declining arrivals from China.
“The upside for Phuket is clear and the potential is limitless. These direct three-to-four hour flights from India will benefit Phuket's economy immensely. 
"As well as bringing lucrative Indian weddings to Phuket, their average holiday spend is high. Typically May and June have the lowest hotel occupancy in Phuket, yet this is the school holiday period in India and a time when many Indians travel. GoAir's direct flights will help to provide a big boost to the island's businesses during this period,” added Lalvani.
“India has the highest level of pollution in the world today and once Indian travellers realise they can go non-stop to the paradise island of Phuket, I wouldn't be surprised to see Indian arrivals outnumber Chinese within three years.”
Owned by the Waida Group, one of India’s oldest conglomerates established in 1736, GoAir was recently reported to be the fastest growing airline in the world by Routes Online.
“We will also soon be flying into Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok. Thailand is a big part of our international expansion, it is a destination popular with Indian travellers and Phuket is at the heart of that,” said Wadia. “Ninety per cent of our fleet is new and within six months this will be 100 per cent. We placed an order for 164 planes and have taken delivery so far of 41. Our plans for Phuket and the region are big.”