Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) have agreed to team up to increase tourist flows to targeted destinations in Thailand.
The three-year agreement, signed on Friday and effective next Sunday, is modelled after successful schemes in South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The accord contains framework for joint marketing exercises to raise both the numbers of foreign tourists and international flights through the six AoT-operated airports.
AoT executives said the two state enterprises will work together to formulate strategies aimed at targeted groups to capitalise on rising tourist volumes and supporting the start of the Asean Economic Community in late 2015.
From AoT's perspective, the cooperation will help to boost passenger traffic through its airports, whose main revenue is derived from the passenger service charge, commonly known as the airport tax, now 700 baht per international passenger and 100 baht for domestic travellers.
AoT-operated airports are gateways to major tourist destinations _ Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports), Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai and Phuket.
Passenger traffic through those airports leaped 18.1% year-on-year in the first half to 43.7 million, while aircraft movements jumped by 16% to 282,102.
International tourist arrivals to Thailand posted growth of 20.5% year-on-year in the first seven months to 15 million, Tourism and Sports Ministry data show.
The TAT projects 24.5 million foreign tourists this year.