So, we have been told that Bangaloreans are increasingly travelling to foreign destinations for vacations. And today we have been told that Bangkok is one destination.
If one is looking for indicators, one of the best would a low-cost carrier(LCC) launching a direct flight to Bangkok. SpiceJet on Thursday became the first airline to gauge and act on the trend by launching a service that will operates on four days in a week.
There's a rationale to it. V Raja, senior vice-president (commercial), SpiceJet Ltd, said, "Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, is also the major financial and economic hub of Thailand. Bangkok is also the gateway to Southeast Asia. There is huge growth potential in trade between India and ASEAN nations, and Bangkok would be one of the important centres for this trade development."
Raja said, "Over the years, with affordable tourism gaining momentum, the city (Bangkok) has gained a name for itself as being one of the most preferred destinations for tourist from India. It caters to people of all age groups and offers an array of tourist attractions starting from Buddhist temples to plush shopping attractions."
The direct flight between Bangalore and Bangkok would provide convenience and also help in reducing travel cost and time for all the passengers. Flights to Bangkok SG91 will leave at 3.35am every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and the return flight to Bangalore, SG92, operating on same days, will arrive at 10.35pm.
"Bengaluru is one of the most important destinations for SpiceJet as well as other carriers operating in the country. Along with Chennai and Hyderabad, Bengaluru is one of out biggest operating centres. Bengaluru has provided ample opportunity to SpiceJet for operating and connecting the destinations across the country," Raja said.
On the Bangalore connection, he said, "It is a fact that SpiceJet has maximum number of flights out of Bangalore. We have connected Bangalore with various cities—tier-II and III towns across the country. We operate on many sectors which are served only by us. When we launched our Q-400 fleet, we connected many destinations in Karnataka, like Bangalore-Mangalore and Bangalore-Hubli."
The airline is now luring vacationers with an introductory fare of Rs 7,999 (inclusive of all taxes), one of the most attractive fares in the industry. SpiceJet is also offering convenient connections to Bangkok from other cities on the network through Bangalore. The airline has deployed its new generation Boeing 737-800 (189-seater aircraft) on this route. Bangkok is the tenth international destination of SpiceJet.
Bangkok travel trends
- Bangkok is among the world's top tourist destinations. It is the most visited city in MasterCard's Global Destination Cities Index, and has been named World's Best City for four consecutive years by Travel+Leisure magazine.
- Bangkok is expected to receive 15.98 million tourists in 2013, compared to London’s 15.96 million and Paris’s 13.92 million, according to MasterCard’s latest Global Destination Cities Index
- Medical tourism is a large and growing sector within Thailand’s extensive tourism and healthcare industries
- Nearly 2.5 million medical tourists from countries around the world came to Thailand for medical treatment in 2012, medical tourism industry’s rate of growth is approximately 16% per annum.
