Chartered flights between Chiang Mai of Thailand and Guilin in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have taken off to boost tourism development in the two cities.
An aircraft carrying 147 passengers, the first chartered plane from Chiang Mai, landed at the Liangjiang International Airport in Guilin recently, marking the beginning of air exchanges between two tourism cities.
Tourism sources in Guilin said there will be two chartered planes flying from Chiang Mai to Guilin in the coming two months. And the two cities hope to launch long-term regular flights to boost bilateral exchanges and their respective tourism industries in the future.
With a population of 500,000, Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand and a traffic hub and tourism destination which hosts three million visitors annually.
Guilin, a renowned scenic and tourism site, receives more than 10 million tourists from home and abroad annually.
Currently, Guilin is linked by international air routes with cities including Fukuoka of Japan, Seoul, Bangkok, and Laoag of the Philippines. The city also operates more than 70 domestic air routes.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2003)
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