Orient Thai Airlines has launched a direct flight route between Bangkok and south China's resort city of Guilin, airport authorities said Saturday.

The airline will offer a round-trip flight between the cities every six days, a spokesman with the Guilin Liangjiang International Airport said.

The first flight took place on Friday night, he said.

Increasing numbers of tourists from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have been going to Guilin since the inauguration of the ASEAN free trade zone in January 2010.

Regular and chartered flight routes have previously been launched for Guilin and several other ASEAN cities, including Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, the spokesman said.