New Phuket direct flights to bring more Kazakhstani tourists

Phuket is looking to an increase in tourists from Kazakhstan following the start of direct flights to and from the central asian country’s remote capital, Astana. 
The service is operated by Air Astana. The maiden direct flight, KC163 from Astana, arrived in the southern island province on Sunday.
Suladda Sarutilavan, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Europe region, said the new service was expected to boost tourist numbers.
Speaking at Phuket airport after the landing of the maiden flight on Sunday, she said Kazakhstanis were the second largest group of visitors from the central-eastern european region, after Russians.
Ms Suladda said Kazakhstan was a prime target for the TAT, with direct flights now and visa-free entry. This should help lift visitor numbers to the TAT’s goal of 200,000 Kazakhstanis this year.
Phuket is already one of the prime holiday destinations for vacationers from Kazakhstan. The other favourites are Pattaya, Krabi and Phangnga. 
There were 137,000 arrivals from Kazakhstan from Jan 1 to Oct 23, a 16% rise year-on-year, and each spent an average 75,000 baht per trip, according to TAT statistics. Most of them were first-timers, according to the TAT.