Bangkok (Thailand) – January 9, 2017 (travelindex.com) – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Taiwanese airline EVA Airways Corporation today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at developing joint tourism promotion strategies to increase the number of visitors from the US and Canada.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), stated: “This Memorandum of Understanding will help us to specifically target tourists from the Americas – one of our most important and fastest-growing markets. EVA Air is a vital link between North America and Asia, as there are currently no direct flights from the US and Canada to Thailand. By collaborating with EVA Air on tourism initiatives, we can raise awareness of Thailand's attractions and further increase visitor numbers from 2017 onwards.”

Following the signing ceremony of the Letter of Intent, a project implementation workshop will be held between representatives of EVA Air and TAT directors from North America and Asia to discuss cooperation in marketing for long-haul and short-haul markets.

EVA Air currently offers 80 flights per week between North America and Taiwan, including 3 daily flights from Los Angeles, 2 daily flights from San Francisco, 10 flights per week from Seattle, and 5 flights per week from Vancouver on the West Coast, as well as 2 daily flights from New York and 5 flights per week from Toronto on the East Coast. The airline also offers daily flights from Houston and four flights per week from Chicago in the USA.

Passengers can then connect to Bangkok with EVA Air on the Taipei-Bangkok route, which operates 26 times a week. The number of flights was recently increased from 17 per week to meet rising demand from long-haul travelers. Approximately 50 percent of passengers on EVA Air's Taipei-Bangkok routes come from North America and Europe.

Mr. Golden Kou, spokesman for EVA Air, said: “We are pleased that this Memorandum of Understanding marks another significant collaboration between TAT and EVA Airways to promote Thailand as a short-haul destination for Taiwanese tourists and as a long-haul destination for travelers from North America.”

The TAT also plans to open a new office in Canada to offer services to Canadian tourists traveling to the Kingdom.

In 2015, Thailand attracted 827,110 tourists from the USA, an increase of 12.61 percent compared to the previous year. Of these, 50.44 percent came from the west coast and 49.56 percent from the east coast. Tourists from this region spent an average of US$146.63 per day and stayed an average of 13.38 days in Thailand.

From January to November 2016, a total of 1,236,694 tourists from America visited Thailand, an increase of 13.36 percent compared to 2015. Of these increased travelers, 859,838 came from the USA (an increase of 12.32 percent) and 216,768 from Canada (an increase of 7.31 percent).

International Public Relations Department, Tourism Authority of Thailand, 1600 New Petchaburi Road, Makkasan, Ratchathevi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand, Tel.: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 4545-48, Fax: +66 (0) 2250 0246, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.TATnews.org