Malaysia Aviation Group Gives Booster Shot To Sarawak’s Tourist Arrivals For 2022 – with Event Video

By Anthony Tan
VIRGIN Communications 

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

 

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) has partnered Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) to woo more tourist arrivals into Sarawak in 2022, moving in tandem with the recent increase in air connectivity to more destinations within the Land of the Hornbills from Peninsular Malaysia, and other countries to come in the near future.

Standing from left: Captain Izham Ismail, Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, 

Dennis Ngau and Hii Chang Kee
Sitting from left: Sharzede Salleh Askor and Lau Yin May 

The collaboration between them was formalised via the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) group chief marketing and customer experience officer Lau Yin May and STB chief executive officer (CEO) Sharzede Salleh Askor on 19 February in Kuala Lumpur. 

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, the ministry’s permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee, STB chairman Dennis Ngau and MAG group CEO Captain Izham Ismail.

Sia Sitok Sarawak Plus is officially launch

STB and MAG will be jointly marketing and promoting events as well as working together on inter-organisational partnerships for Sarawak’s tourism activities, corporate social responsibility activities, and other collaborative opportunities.

Under MAG’s wing, the parties involved are Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, MASwings and MHholidays.

One of the objectives of their year-long partnership is to promote Sarawak as a choice favourite tourist destination in 2022 through the launch of the Sia Sitok Sarawak Plus Interstate Travel Campaign. Sarawak is targeting 1.2 million domestic tourists this year.

The full recording of the event can be viewed below:-

AirAsia Adds Four New Routes In January 2022

By Anthony Tan
VIRGIN Communications

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

Encouraging more domestic travel at the start of 2022, AirAsia Malaysia (flight code AK) has scheduled launches of four new routes connecting East and West Malaysia. 

Its Kuching-Langkawi flight took off on 5 January while three other routes will take off towards end-Jan.

AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat says with the festive season upon us, AirAsia is excited and fully ready to offer our guests more routes between more major towns and cities in Malaysia. 

“These new routes will further strengthen our tourism footprint in Malaysia, providing more options for international visitors to travel between the states.

“We look forward to explore even more new routes across Malaysian airports from other parts of our Asean network. 

“From an operational standpoint, we have extensively prepared to ensure all of our guests can travel safely, seamlessly and with peace of mind. 

“AirAsia guests are always assured of the stringent health and safety protocols enforced on all of our flights with our highly trained and fully vaccinated crew continuing to deliver the world’s best service during the pandemic.”

AirAsia’s Four New Routes 

Routes	2022 Launch Dates	Weekly Frequency	All-in one-way fare from
Kuching – Langkawi	5 January	Wednesday and Sunday	RM99
Penang – Sibu	27 January	Thursday and Saturday	RM139
Johor Bahru – Bintulu	28 January	Friday	RM119
Kota Kinabalu –Kuala Terengganu	30 January	Sunday	RM159

Langkawi International Airport

Besides having only fully-vaccinated employees operate flights and be on-duty at airport terminals, only fully-vaccinated guests are accepted onboard its flights.

To add value to these new routes, AirAsia’s passengers can purchase great value flights and hotel deals from RM239 via the SNAP icon on the airline’s Super App from now until 16 January for travels from 25 January to 30 June.

Those who prefer to book their hotels separately may check out the Hotels icon in the app and get an extra 10% off with the promo code, AAHOTEL10.

Sultan Mahmud Airport – Kuala Terengganu

As part of its robust Covid-19 mitigation plan, AirAsia has made it mandatory for guests to check-in via its Super App and launched a unique FACES facial recognition boarding system that makes the entire journey fully digital and contactless.

The airline has spent the downtime period in travel over the past 20 months to further improve and revamp its flight procedures and processes in the interest of safety and well-being of all its guests and employees.

Its aircraft are properly maintained according to procedures set by the manufacturer, claims AirAsia, which has set up an in-house maintenance, repair and operations unit, Asia Digital Engineering, that provides services not only to AirAsia but also other airlines. 

Likewise, its pilots and cabin crew are regularly trained for mandatory refresher courses and ongoing retraining so that they are always on top of their job.

For more information on AirAsia’s safety measures and travel SOPs, please read its latest travel advisory here.

Sarawak Welcomes Back Malaysia Airlines Direct Flight From Penang To Kuching

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

2 December 2021 will go into the historical records on Malaysia Airlines’ resumption of its direct flight from Penang to Kuching. Before this, business and leisure travellers have to transit at KL International Airport for their connections to Sarawak’s capital city.

The Penang-Kuching flight operates twice weekly with average fare at RM209 one way. The national carrier is using Boeing 737-800 which offers 16 Business Class and 144 Economy Class seats.

MH2721 flight, carrying 140 passengers, touched down at Kuching International Airport at about 9.50 am and was a given the traditional water cannon salute by two fire water trucks from Malaysia Airports’ Fire Department to celebrate the occasion. 

The passengers were welcomed by the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MTAC) Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah; its Permanent Secretary and Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) Deputy Chairman Hii Chang Kee; STB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor; Malaysia Airlines Head of Sales Roslan Ismail and Maswings Chief Operating Officer Captain Nasaruddin A Bakar. 

A Sarawak cultural performance troupe was also part of the welcome delegation

Abdul Karim, in his welcoming speech, said, “Sarawak is nestled on the beautiful island of Borneo, separated from the Peninsular Malaysia by the South China Sea. One of the ways in and out of the island is by air connectivity. 

Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MTAC)
 Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah

“It is so good to see we are now connected via Malaysia Airlines to another beautiful island, Penang. With travel restrictions easing up in Sarawak, the state is looking forward to more new direct routes and increased frequency of direct flights from Malaysia’s other hubs such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Kota Kinabalu as well as greater collaboration with the national carrier.

“Passengers’ safety will always be our main priority with stringent standard operating procedures enforced so that they will have peace of mind while travelling to Sarawak.

“Fully vaccinated domestic travellers from all states in Malaysia need not quarantine upon arrival to Sarawak and no PCR or RTK Covid-19 tests are needed prior to departure. 

“The only requirement needed is the application for ‘Enter Sarawak’ for non-Sarawakians and filling in the e-Health declaration form,” he added.

Sharzede quipped, “We are heartened to welcome passengers from Penang to Sarawak. A unique plethora of culture, adventure, nature, food, and festivals, we are certain travellers from Penang will enjoy the many offerings of Sarawak.”

“We extend our appreciation to MTAC Sarawak and Malaysian Airlines for the addition of this new route and look forward to welcoming more visitors from Penang during the upcoming holiday season.

“We will continue creating meaningful experience for our travellers whilst spearheading responsible tourism initiatives as we believe it will contribute to the wellbeing of our local communities and the environment.”

Malaysia Aviation Group CEO Captain Izham Ismail remarked, “Malaysia Airlines is honoured to recommence operations between these two key domestic sectors, Penang and Sarawak. As national carrier of the country, we play a unique role in stimulating the travel and tourism industry. 

“This move is very timely as air travel gradually picks up domestically and we are ready to serve business or leisure travellers with the connectivity they need.

“Our sister company MASwings is also supporting with increased operations from Kuching to Miri with 12 times weekly flights effective 1 December 2021, signifying our commitment to provide better air connectivity within Malaysia and into the rural areas of Borneo.” 

4th Penang International Halal Expo and Conference 2013

By Anthony Tan | email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk
 

The fourth Penang International Halal Expo and Conference (PIHEC) 2013 will be held at the two venues, Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) and Eastin Hotel Penang.

The Halal Expo will kick off from 10am to 8pm on January 18-20 at PISA, which is currently undergoing upgrading.

     PISA is undergoing upgrading works to become Subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (sPICE)

 

Penang’s state exco for Religious Affairs, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Abdul Malik Abdul Kassim (pic) said at a press conference at the state assembly building recently that the expo would comprised some 200 booths promoting Halal Malaysian products.

It will also feature international exhibitors from Belgium (1 Pavilion), Iran (three booths), New Zealand (two booths) and Australia (one booth). Other participating countries include Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. 

Abdul Malik said the state’s halal facilitation agency, Penang International Halal Hub (PIHH) Development Sdn Bhd, also known as  Halal Penang, was also working towards organising the Chief Ministers and Governors Forum during the expo, which is expected to attract over 30,000 participants, including visitors.

Besides the opening ceremony, several programmes have been drawn up at PISA.

They include Islamic fashion shows, celebrity chefs’ cooking demonstrations, exhibitors’ product demos, beauty demos, game shows, lucky draws and quizzes, Islamic performances and forum, Islamic Khat (calligraphy) competition as well as appearances by local artistes.

The expo is the second international halal event in the country after the Malaysia International Halal Showcase, which is organised by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation.

In line with the thrust of the PIHEC 2013, which is to project Penang as a global halal tourism hub, the conference component, which will be held on 19 January, carries the theme “Halal Tourism and Hospitality – Travel the World Muslim Style”.

 

The full-day conference is expected to draw some 200 participants, including hoteliers, travel agents, academicians, hospitals and the business community.

 

It aims to provide a platform for the convergence of academic perspectives and business aspects of tourism for Muslim travellers.

The conference is also expected to generate creative proposals and ideas for providing halal hospitality services and niche halal concept hotel chains.

The Venue:
 

Eastin Hotel Penang

How To Get There:

 
 

It is timely for Penang to target the growing Muslim travellers, which is forecast to outpace the growth of the other travel segments given the increasing demand for syariah-compliance products and services.

In last few years, national tourism organisations (NTOs) such as  Hong Kong Tourism Board, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Macau Government Tourist Office, Korea National Tourism Organisation and Taiwan Tourism Bureau are non-Muslim countries which have been coming to Malaysia to encourage Muslims to visit their respective country, assuring them that they can provide Muslim friendly products and services.

These NTOs have been working closely with the local travel agents to promote their packages in the MATTA Fairs each year as they see the potential of this market segment worth US$100 billion a year, which is expected to grow to US$200 billion by 2020.

 

Note:

I would like to thank Mary Ann Harris, Eastin Hotel Penang's general manager (pic) for bringing to my attention the 4th PIHEC 2013 when we met at the Penang International Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s (PICEB) official launch.

She was aggressively promoting PIHEC to the delegates attending the event and even invited me to cover it. She is one of the few people whom I met in Penang who is very committed to the MICE industry and wants to see the PICEB succeed. 

For more details on PIHEC 2013, visit www.halalpenang.com or call 04-2625444.


 

Thai Tourism Promotion in Penang and Kuala Lumpur

By Anthony Tan email: micemalaysiabeyond@gmail.com

The annual Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) tourism promotion mini Travel Mart road shows to Penang and Kuala Lumpur saw 35 sellers from 27 hoteliers, seven travel agents and one airline came to meet the Malaysia travel trade buyers.

The Thai tourism industry groups were representing tourism destinations from Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket, Phangnga, Krabi, Surat Thani and Chiangmai to promote new tourism products and packages to the Malaysian travel agents and updating the travel writers as well.

The only airline that participated this time is Bangkok Airways as they are introducing a daily flight from Kuala Lumpur to Koh Samui starting April 1. (For more details log on:

http://airlinesairportsmalaysia.blogspot.com/2012/02/bangkok-airways-to-fly-koh-samui-kl-koh.html)

Among some the hotels that were present were Khaolak Laguna Phangnga, R-Mar Resort and Spa in Patong, Phuket, Railay Bay Resort in Krabi, Ban Thai Beach Resort & Spa in Patong, Phuket, Cape Sienna Hotel & Villas from Phuket, Aonang Princeville Resort and Spa from Krabi and a few others.
A-1 Hotels were busy promoting their hotel properties in Bangkok and Pattaya including one located near Suvarnabhumi Airport

.Peach Group presented their three resort properties in Phuket with Peach Hill Hotel & Resort, Andaman Cannacia Resort & Spa and Peach Blossom Resort.

One regular travel agent that participated in the road show is Charn Wongsatayanont from Phuket Jet Tours Co Ltd, who comes to meet his old business contacts and to establish new ones every year.

Charn Wongsatayanont (right) with travel writer Laura Lee (left) and outbound travel operator Jason Lim, MD of GTT - KL

Discovery Holidays Co, Ltd and Group Company with its head office in Bangkok were busy at its promotion desk with Malaysian Travel Agents seen waiting for their turn to discuss business opportunities with the company’s reps.

TAT officials informed the attendees that Thailand had recovered from the severe flooding toward the end of last year and tourism products and attractions are back to normal operation.

For year 2011, Malaysian recorded the top arrival to Thailand with 2,470,686 tourists with an increase of 19.98% and for the first timer visitors saw an increase of 200%. Repeat Malaysian visitors to Thailand were recorded at 60% of the total arrivals.

The average spending per Malaysian tourists in Thailand was recorded at USD128.76 per day.

After the business was done, TAT invited the guests to a dinner in the evening filled with Thai cultural dances, a video show on Thailand tourism product update and ends the night with a lucky draw consisting of many holiday packages to Thailand.

Lucky people win prizes to Thailand