AirAsia Removes "Get Off In Thailand" Ad Following Backlash In Australia
The advertisement was to promote Air Asia's direct flights from Brisbane to Bangkok.
By Katrina Khairul Azman — 27 Mar 2019, 11:57 AM
AirAsia's "Get off in Thailand" advertisement campaign in Australia has been removed after it was criticised for appearing to promote Thailand's sex industry
The company has officially ended the campaign, which began on 18 February, Coconuts Bangkok reported.
The advertisement, which was intended to promote AirAsia's direct flights from Brisbane to Bangkok, was posted on buses around Brisbane
Outraged netizens took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the airline's choice of tagline.
"That this ad is a dog whistle - or megaphone - to sex tourists is not a mistake," Twitter user Melinda Liszewski wrote on the website of Collective Shout, a grassroots campaign movement against the objectification of women.
"AirAsia takes community feedback extremely seriously and the airline sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused from recent concerns raised," a company spokesperson told BBC News on 25 March.
"The campaign aimed to promote Bangkok as a destination, for example, get off the bus get... off the aircraft in Bangkok," the airline said, according to Channel NewsAsia.
In addition to its beaches and popular cuisine, Thailand is notoriously known for its sex industry
Despite the fact that prostitution is illegal in the country, it is still widely practiced in most of its major cities, where prostitution establishments flourish under the guise of massage parlours, bath houses, karaoke bars, and nightclubs.
Estimates put the number of Thai prostitutes at anywhere between 800,000 to 2 million, Nation Multimedia reported.