Bangkok, 30 April, 2018 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Thai Air Asia are delighted to announced a co-branding partnership as part of the broad strategy to promote the action-packed Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018.
It also incorporates the latest Amazing Thailand Go Local project as well as this year’s communication concept of Amazing Thailand’s ‘Open to the New Shades’.
The co-branding partnership will see the airline brand its newest Airbus A320 aircraft with the ‘Shades of the River’ design, reflecting the Thai local way of life. The modern graphic and airline livery features a glimpse of the daily life of a Thai fruit vendor, who’s selling her goods out of a wooden boat while rowing past amazing scenes of natural beauty, complemented by Thai artisan design motifs.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor, said: “The design represents an invitation from the Thai people, inviting both Thais and foreign tourists to discover Thai local experiences from a new perspective.
“This co-branding partnership with Thai Air Asia corresponds with the Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018 with an aim of maintaining a balance between the economy, environment and benefits for Thai society.
“It also corresponds with the ‘Amazing Thailand Go Local’ project to promote 55 second-tier tourist provinces nationwide in a bid to inspire at least 10 million visitors to visit local destinations. It is expected to generate at least 10 billion Baht (US$317.5 million) to local communities, as well as even out the ratio between Thai and foreign tourists from the current 70:30 ratio to 65:35.”
The ‘Shades of the River’ design is currently being painted onto Thai Air Asia’s Airbus 320 aircraft and will be launched in July 2018 on both domestic and international routes.
This is Thai Air Asia’s fourth aircraft to be branded under a co-branding partnership with the TAT. The previous designs were the logo of the 2015 Discover Thainess campaign (Royal Barge), the ‘Yak Cute’ (Thai giant), and Amazing Culture (Thai silk).
Thai Air Asia currently serves 40 domestic and 47 international routes from six hubs in Thailand – Bangkok (Don Mueang), Phuket, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Pattaya (U-Tapao), and Hat Yai. In 2017, it served 12.5 million domestic passengers, accounting for 63 per cent of the overall passenger traffic from and to its Thai hubs.