India's budget airline GoAir has entered the Thai market, operating five direct flights to Phuket, marking its first international route.
"Our inaugural flight landed on Phuket on Oct 11, and the level of interest from Indian travellers has been excellent," said Jeh Wadia, managing director of GoAir.
The flights are from Mumbai and Delhi in India, and the airline plans to increase the routes to 10 cities, flying direct to Phuket, by the end of this year.
The direct flights from the second-largest population in the world could help Thailand soften the blow from declining arrivals from China.
"We expect to be flying into Don Mueang airport in Bangkok soon. Thailand is a big part of our international expansion, as it is a destination popular with Indian travellers, and Phuket is at the heart of that," said Mr Wadia.
He said 90% of the airline's fleet is new, and within six months this figure will be 100%.
Mr Wadia said GoAir has placed an order for 164 planes, and it has taken delivery of 41.
Owned by Wadia Group, one of India's oldest conglomerates established in 1736, GoAir is a leading low-cost airline in India and was recently reported to be the fastest growing airline in the world by Routes Online.
India has more than 1.3 billion people and a rapidly growing appetite for international travel.
World Bank data shows almost 22 million Indians travelled overseas in 2017, while the UN World Tourism Organisation predicts India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020.
The number of visitors from India has soared in recent years, with 1.41 million Indian arrivals in Thailand last year, an 18% increase year-on-year.
Gulu Lalvani, chairman of Royal Phuket Marina, said Indians are already familiar with Thailand, but most have never taken direct flights into Phuket.
He said these direct 3-4 hour flights from India will benefit Phuket's economy immensely.
"The flights will bring more lucrative Indian weddings to Phuket, and their average holiday spending is high. Typically May and June have the lowest hotel occupancy in Phuket, but this is the school holiday period in India and a time when many Indians travel," said Mr Lalvani.
"GoAir's direct flights will help provide a big boost to the island's tourism businesses during this period."
