![Bangkok “continues to be one of the busiest in our network enjoying strong year-round demand, particularly from the UAE, [Arabian Gulf], Middle East, Africa and Europe”, said Tim Burnell, Etihad’s vice president for marketing. Pawan Singh / The National](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/O7SIQDCDV2GT6H2ZTHBWTIPKCA.jpg?smart=true&auth=61c13302301235e05f9af4ba42760a35c2ac2db24b870b52f9fdede0fa530b06&width=800&height=450)
Etihad Airways on Tuesday signed a US$ 1 million deal with the Thai tourism agency to promote the South East Asian country in Europe and the Middle East.
The deal takes effect from February. The money will be spent equally by Etihad and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
One of the seven focus markets to promote Thailand is the UAE besides the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Egypt and Kuwait.
Bangkok “continues to be one of the busiest in our network enjoying strong year-round demand, particularly from the UAE, [Arabian Gulf], Middle East, Africa and Europe”, according to Tim Burnell, Etihad’s vice president for marketing.
The carrier has five daily flights to Thailand, four to Bangkok and one to Phuket, with about 21,800 seats a week in the sector. Around 800,000 passengers flew Etihad to and from Bangkok last year.
“The new partnership with Etihad Airways will be a great benefit to both parties – to Thailand in terms of increased visitor numbers and to Etihad Airways in terms of promoting its international network,” said Tanes Petsuwan, the deputy governor of the Thai tourism agency.
Last June, TAT tied up with Emirates Airlines to promote tourism.
This year, TAT has a target of attracting 34.5 million international tourists, up 5.8 per cent from 32.6 million visitors last year. The country has targeted tourism revenues of about 1.81 trillion baht (Dh189.2 billion) this year, a 10 per cent increase year on year from 1.64 trillion baht.
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