Scoot: Ready For Take Off From Singapore To Miri Twice Weekly

By Anthony Tan
VIRGIN Communications
email:  anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

Scoot Tigerair Pte Ltd, operating as Scoot, will launch its twice weekly direct flights from Singapore to Miri effective 23 February. 

The Singaporean low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, was initially scheduled to commence the Singapore-Miri route on 19 January but had postponed to this new date due to unforeseen circumstances.

According to Sarawak Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin, the letter of confirmation for the route from Scoot was received on 3 February by his ministry. 

Sarawak Transport
Minister Dato Sri
Lee Kim Shin

“With the opening of this new route between Singapore and Miri, the distance, time, and comfort of doing business will be less of a hassle, especially if we need to bring in cargo or business travellers from overseas via Singapore to Miri,” he says.

Additionally, expenses will be greatly reduced compared to transiting in Kuala Lumpur.

Currently, Scoot is operating flights from Singapore to Kuching three times weekly. It will be very timely for the airline to operate the Singapore-Miri route as Miri is the northern gateway into Sarawak.

Miri is also one of the main gateways to numerous wildlife attractions such as Gunung Mulu National Park, which features the world’s largest cave passage at Deer Cave besides other interesting caves. This renowned national park can be reached by air in 30 minutes from Miri.

The city is also the gateway to the fantastic caves at Niah National Park, Sarawak’s largest natural lake at Loagan Bunut National Park and Lambir Hills National Park with one of the world’s biggest biodiversity. 

Dato Sri Lee views the Singapore-Miri route as a manifestation of the airline and other big corporations’ confidence in Sarawak and Miri can offer investors in terms of the oil and gas industry.

Passengers of airlines not using the aerobridge at the Miri Airport will
have to walk to the terminal building

He reminds all travellers entering Sarawak to comply strictly with the standard operating procedures set by Malaysia’s National Security Council, Ministry of Health and the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).

They include filling the EnterSarawak and e-Health form to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the state. 

Just a short drive by road outside the Miri City, tourists can experience the
traditional native welcome ceremony to their longhouse  

Acknowledging the support of the Sarawak Trade and Tourism Office in Singapore, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ministry of Transport, Malaysia Aviation Commission, Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia, Sarawak Tourism Board, Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad, Immigration Department, Custom Department and SDMC, he says the Singapore-Miri flights are now open for booking at Scoot’s website, https://www.flyscoot.com.

Singapore-Miri Flight Schedule

Frequency	From	To	Flight No.	Departure Time	Arrival Time
Wednesday	Singapore	Miri	TR 400	12.20pm	2.20 pm
Saturday	Miri	Singapore	TR 401	3pm	5pm

Malaysia To Host World Tourism Conference 2013 In Melaka

By Anthony Tan | Virgin Communications

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

 



The Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia together with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) will be organising the third series of the World Tourism Conference (WTC) to be held in Melaka from 21 to 23 October 2013. 

 

The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato’Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (centre) briefing the media at the press conference accompanied by his senior officers

 

 

WTC 2010 held in Kota Kinabalu

WTC was first hosted in Kuala Lumpur in 2007 with the theme, “Tourism Success Stories and Shooting Stars” while in 2010, the conference’s theme was “Tourism Success Stories and Rising Stars” in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

This year’s theme is “Global Tourism: Game Changers and Pace Setters” with the conference supported by the State Government of Melaka.
 

Two of Melaka's many tourist attractions. In the

background is the Porta de Santiago and the 

colourful decorated trishaw 

As one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Malaysia, it is a perfect venue to host the WTC 2013.

Melaka is colourful, historic city, which has been developed over 500 years as a trading centre. There has been with so much cultural exchanges between the East and the West passing through the Straits of Malacca.

The influences of Asia and Europe, especially from the Indians, Portuguese, Dutch and British have endowed Melaka with a multicultural heritage that has left a unique mark in its architectural landscape, cultural heritage and lifestyle.

“Melaka was chosen as the venue for the WTC 2013 since it is has been accorded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status and amplifies Malaysia’s rich and diverse culture and heritage to foreign visitors, delegates and participants,” said the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
 

“Key professionals from all over the world in the tourism industry will gather at this conference to deliberate and address challenges beyond mass tourism, opportunities in innovative tourism marketing and strategies for tourism product development and innovation.”
 

He added that the conference will benefit not only tourism industry players but also policy makers and other stakeholders through the sharing of experiences and knowledge in tourism planning, development and marketing.

Melaka's own red square which is a popular site for photography by tourists. If you do not take a picture here , you have not been to Melaka.

The UNWTO expects the Asia-Pacific region to grow by 330 million arrivals in two decades from 204 million in 2010 to 535 million tourist arrivals in 2030.
 

With global tourist arrivals projected at 1.56 billion in 2030, every nation is set to benefit from this phenomenal growth.

UNWTO Secretary-General Dr Taleb Rifai said in a message,“The WTC 2013 will bring together a wide range of reputed world tourism leaders, high-level policy makers and experts from both the public and private sectors to exchange experiences, put forward valuable ideas and provide guidance for future tourism development.”

He said that tourism is one of the world’s biggest generators of employment and export earnings as well as a key driver for economic growth and sustainable development.
 

WTC 2013 should not be missed by the tourism industry players in Malaysia such as hoteliers, tourism officers, airlines and airports representatives, tour operators, tourism product operators as well as tourism and hospitality students as they will get the opportunity to connect, share with and learn from one another at the conference.
 

The main objectives of World Tourism Conference 2013 are to discuss and address current and relevant issues related to the tourism industry. The key areas for discussion will be:

·        Beyond Mass Tourism: how destinations can prosper with higher yield markets by capitalising on niche products which are priced correctly and targeted to the right markets.

·        Innovative Marketing: the importance of creating innovative products and a strong brand identity to develop dynamism and continuous progress in the industry.

·        Directions for Tourism Product Development: exploring the potential of tourism products such as homestay and its variants, domestic tourism, as well as youth and Gen-Y travellers, and synergies between conservation and commercial viability.

They include the Head of Travel Google from United States, Rob Torres; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Korea Tourism Organisation (South Korea), Lee Charm; Chairman of VisitBritain (United Kingdom) Right Honorable Christopher Rodrigues CBE; Vice-Chairman of China National Tourism Administration (China), Du Jiang; CEO of Air Asia X Sdn Bhd (Malaysia); Azran Osman Rani and Managing Director of Tourism Australia, Andrew McEvoy.

The minister also announced that a day prior to WCT 2013’s opening, Malaysia is also the host for the Asian Association of Convention and Visitor’s Bureau flagship event, the seventh Asia for Asia Summit.

The summit, also to be held in Melaka, will discuss strategies, innovative ideas and best practises on developing the business events industry in this region.

Registration for the WTC 2013 is now open. Visit http://www.wtc2013malaysia.com for more details.