AirAsia ad in Australia gets called out for promoting sex tourism

AirAsia has been in hot water after its advertising campaign in Australia was called out for "promoting sex tourism" by a netizen. The ad, which said "Get off in Thailand", was part of the airline's efforts in marketing its direct route to Bangkok from Brisbane.A grassroots campaigner from a movement called Collective Shout in Australia posted her comments on Twitter after spotting a bus ad. She said she was alarmed that this "dog whistle to sex tourists" ad was featured on a public bus service in the city.In a statement to A+M, an AirAsia spokesperson apologised to those who have raised concerns over the ad and said that it takes community feedback seriously. The airline also took measures to end the ad campaign, and its media partners removed the last of the ads as of yesterday.The spokesperson also clarified that the campaign was aimed to promote Bangkok as a final destination and meant it as "Get off the bus" or "Get off the aircraft in Bangkok". Currently almost two-thirds of Australians fly with AirAsia to connect to other destinations. The airline launched its new services between Brisbane and Bangkok last month and it brought in a new fleet of flights to introduce non-stop flights to more destinations.This comes on the back of recent news that AirAsia flights were withdrawn from online travel agent Traveloka. AirAsia told A+M last week that it will be placing its focus on enhancing its products and services as well as website and mobile app instead. In addition, online agents were rumoured to be asked by major Indonesia airlines to keep AirAsia’s Indonesia flights out of their platforms, according to Skift‘s sources. The online agents reported by the travel publication include Traveloka, Tiket.com, Panorama Group, Golden Rama Tours & Travel, and Wita Tour.Meanwhile, a spokesperson from AirAsia reiterated that it remains “open to dialogue with business partners” but did not comment further on the alleged bans from various online travel agents.Read also:AirAsia scores with Malaysian Football League partnershipAirAsia pulls sales of flights from Indonesian online travel agent Traveloka(Photo courtesy: @MelLiszewski)