Somsak Suwansujarit, governor of Rayong, pointed out that Rayong was one of the Eastern region’s most rapidly growing provinces in terms of tourism and investment and that it also featured a fully realised industrial sector.

He noted that such development required proper management of natural resources and the environment, leading to the province’s cooperation with AirAsia, which recently opened a flight base at U-tapao Airport. He gave his assurance that state and private-sector organisations in the province were fully supporting the worthwhile campaign.

“This activity reflects that the people of Rayong are aware of their environment. We expect more than 2,300 people to take part in the beach cleanup and in reducing carbon emissions. The project also serves to enliven Rayong’s tourism industry,” the Rayong governor said.

Krid Pattanasan, business relations manager of Thai AirAsia, explained that after the airline opened its latest flight hub at U-tapao Airport in Rayong, operating eight routes from the terminal, it decided to enact activities to promote the province’s tourism and growth. The Green 24 campaign brings together both tourism and environmental development by cleaning up waste at some of Rayong’s most popular travel destinations.

The Green 24 campaign is a regional-level project of AirAsia Group, which aims to create greater environmental awareness.

The campaign began in November in all countries where AirAsia is present and involved a range of undertakings to fight climate change based on the needs of each location. In one instance in November, AirAsia Group joined with Tune Group to mobilise 150 volunteers to clean the area of a waterfall in Kanching Rainforest of Rawang, Malaysia, collecting more than 600 kilograms of garbage and waste.