More China, Taiwan tourists due
Published on: Friday, January 06, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Kota Kinabalu International Airport is usually busier as the festive season approaches but it will get a lot more crowded this year – thanks to some 38 chartered flights bringing in thousands of holidaymakers from China.The number of Taiwanese tourist arrivals also recorded double digit growth last year and the trend is expected to continue this year with the commencement of Malindo Air's four weekly direct flights from Kota Kinabalu to Taipei.State Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Pang Nyuk Ming said the China flights would be coming in between Jan. 14 and Feb. 11. "They chartered the flights from Malindo Air and the tourists will come from six cities in the southern part of China, including Chengdu and Zhenzhou.
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"The Government thank Malindo Air. This also showed that Sabah is capable of attracting foreign tourists because of our many internationally renowned tourist attractions," he said.Malindo Air Chief Executive Officer Chandran Rama Muthy said the airline also has a few chartered flights between KK and Narita in Japan and they are seriously thinking of opening the route in the future.The premium airline which started operation about four years ago currently has 42 airplanes in its fleet and will be adding 10 more before the year is out for a grand total of 52 planes."We have 800 flights travelling weekly to over 40 destinations in 13 countries and this year, we are now offering a 20 per cent discount on all destinations to passengers aged 60 and above.
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So I urge senior citizens to take up this opportunity and travel," he said. Commenting on the KL-KK route, Chandran said he was impressed by the people's support of the airline and announced it would be increasing frequency from three to six weekly flights.The route is consistently registering between 70 and 75 per cent load factor.
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"We always wanted to make Kota Kinabalu as our secondary hub after Kuala Lumpur. Thus, by the first quarter of this year, we are also going to open two routes between Kota Kinabalu and Kuching and add two more between Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu," he said.He added that Kota Kinabalu is ideal as the main hub for Borneo because of its geographical location and ready facilities.Last year, the airline flew more than 5.6 million passengers and it plans to further expand its route network to cover more of the Asian region.Malindo Air Chief Executive Officer Chandran Rama Muthy said the flights, which start Jan. 25, are capable of flying more than 34,000 passengers with 80 per cent inbound passengers into Kota Kinabalu. "Up to October last year, more than 45,000 tourists came from Taiwan to Sabah and with the additional flights, we can expect to have 60,000," he said.To celebrate the launch, Malindo Air is offering introductory fares from Kota Kinabalu to Taipei at RM299 one way all-inclusive for Economy class and RM999 one way all-inclusive for Business class."We are working closely with Sabah Tourism Board and Taiwan Tourism Bureau in promoting this interesting new connectivity to travellers in both countries."With our strong presence in Taiwan, we are planning to bring tourists to more destinations in Sabah and other parts of Malaysia. Malindo Air will also provide onward connectivity to Kuala Lumpur and beyond."This will create closer bilateral ties and certainly improve trade and tourism between the two countries," he said.Taiwan Tourism Bureau KL office Director Tony Wu said it would be distributing vouchers for a free one-night hotel stay in Taipei to the "unsung heroes" of the country such as members of the security forces, doctors, nurses and teachers.He said he came up with the initiative after visiting Hong Kong and seeing a statue commemorating the seven medical workers who sacrificed themselves to help SARS patients."Sacrifices by these people often went unnoticed and I thought this would be a good idea to show that we respect them and appreciate their contributions," he said, adding that the vouchers can be claimed by contacting his office.Meanwhile, in his speech delivered by Deputy Kamarlin Ombi, State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi said there is a huge potential to tap into the incentive market in Taiwan and continued efforts need to be done in driving Sabah as the destination for incentive travel."We are still the go-to destination for soft adventure for the young, including those from Taiwan. They like nature and bird-watching activities. We will work to attract more of them to come here with Malindo Air's flights and increased air capacity," he said.Taiwan, he said, is currently one of Sabah's top four market sources for the past six years together with China, South Korea and Brunei.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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