Scenic improvement, new airline on services in Songkhla to boost tourism

THAILAND, August 18 (TNA) - The Chalathat Beach in Thailand’s Mulsim-majority Songkhla province has been beautified and a new airline, Firefly, which is the subsidiary of the Malaysian Airline initially operating between Penang and Subang in the neighbouring country, has now served international passengers at the Hat Yai Airport in the southern Thai province, both expected to further stimulate tourism in the Thai South. Nattachai Ponkla, a local Marine Department official told reporters Saturday that his agency's vessels have delivered sand to re-fill the 400-meter Chalathat coastline, which was earlier eroded by waves. According to the official, the beach replenishment has been half worked out and should be fully complete by next month to improve the scenery of the beach, which normally attracts loads of Muslim visitors every year during the Hari Raya, an annual festival marking the end of their fast-month Ramadan. Meanwhile, the Malaysia-based Firefly launched its maiden flight to Hat Yai on August 17, now connecting Subang to Hat Yai with its weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The Firefly flights are expected to help raise the number of international tourist arrivals in Songkhla by at least 10 per cent in the future. Songkhla's Hat Yai International Airport has earlier welcomed Singapore-based Tiger Airline operating weekly direct flights between the island state and Hat Yai. Deputy Songkhla Governor Surapon Panatamphon, along with representatives of the state-run Tourism Authority of Thailand or TAT and Songkhla's tourism businesses, led a parade of Thai traditional long-drum to welcome 90 tourists at the Hat Yai International Airport on Friday to celebrate the inaugural flight of the Firfly Airline, flight FY3614, from Subang. The 90 travelers also received garlands and small-coin purses each as souvenirs. (TNA)