KUCHING, Jan 19: Sarawak is set to see increased air connectivity with more destinations in Peninsula Malaysia as Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) and Malaysia Aviation Group (AVG) embarked on a year-long partnership to promote Sarawak as a tourist destination in 2022 through the Sia Sitok Sarawak Plus Interstate Travel Campaign.
According to a media release, the collaboration was formalised today via the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by STB chief executive officer (CEO) Sharzede Salleh Askor and Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) group chief marketing and customer experience officer Lau Yin May.
The signing ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur was witnessed by Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, STB chairman Dennis Ngau, Ministry’s permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee and MAG group CEO Captain Izham Ismail.
As part of the MoU, STB and MAG will work hand-in-hand to market and promote events between STB, MAB, Firefly, MASwings and MHholidays. Both organisations will also work together on inter-organisational partnerships for Sarawak tourism activities, corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, and other collaborative opportunities.
Speaking at the event, Abdul Karim emphasised that connectivity and accessibility are important elements to enhance travel experience and position Sarawak as a leading destination for eco-tourism in the Asean Region.
“In addition, Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has just announced recently that Sarawak has approved more domestic flight frequencies into Sarawak from 307 flights to 562 flights per week with effect from Jan 14 this year.
“We look forward to seeing more direct routes from Peninsula Malaysia and to more parts of Sarawak soon,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sharzede highlighted that Malaysia Airlines will not only be Sia Sitok Sarawak Plus’ official airline, but also have MAB, Firefly, MASwings and MHholidays on board as STB’s strategic partners on future marketing campaigns in promoting Sarawak’s tourism activities and cultural events.
“As a sign of our commitment to revitalise and re-energise Sarawak’s local tourism industry, we are pleased to be signing the MOU with MAG this morning.
“Most importantly, through this collaboration between STB and MAG, there will be an increase in connectivity into Sarawak, with more direct flights from Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur to look forward to,” she added.
Izham pointed out that over the past year, Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and MASwings have worked on improving connectivity to and within Sarawak, with the commencement of direct flights from Penang to Kuching, and increased frequencies between Miri-Sibu-Bintulu that will provide greater mobility to the State and further reinvigorate domestic tourism in Sarawak.
“We look forward to welcoming our customers to fly ‘Sia Sitok’ with us and experience our enhanced products and services with a range of flexibility and choices, seamless connectivity and contactless end-to-end journey while keeping to our utmost priority and commitment to safety.
“Together, the three airlines under MAG offer strong value propositions to the state of Sarawak – with better services, convenience and reliability,” he said.
In conjunction with the event, STB also launched its Sia Sitok Sarawak Plus interstate travel campaign to give travellers the opportunity to visit Sarawak through its main tourism gateways, namely Kuching, Sibu and Miri, with Malaysia Airlines as the official airline.
Customers can enjoy attractive hotel and flight packages via MHholidays, the airline’s tour operating arm and choose from the list of participating hotels, including New World Suites in Bintulu, The Waterfront Hotel in Kuching, Grand Palace Hotel in Miri, RH Hotel in Sibu, for their staycation.
MHholidays packages come with a baggage allowance of 40kg, complimentary onboard meals, and free seat selection and earn Enrich points. This promotion is bookable at www.holidays.malaysiaairlines.com. Customers can also book exclusive tour package on Journify from as low as RM95.
Through the Sia Sitok Sarawak Plus interstate travel campaign, travellers will have access to 57 exhilarating packages to Sarawak.
The booking period for the Sia Sitok Sarawak Plus interstate travel campaign starts from Jan 19 until Feb 28, 2022 with the travelling period from Jan 19 until April 30, 2022.
“Sarawak is blessed with exciting wonders from culture, adventure, nature, food and festivals (or CANFF) which are unique to our State. We hope to attract local travellers to experience the hospitality of Sarawak through the Sia Sitok Sarawak Plus campaign and become our ambassadors to then share their experience with friends and family,” Sharzede concluded.
Visit malaysiaairlines.com or download Malaysia Airlines’ app to get the latest information on the Sia Sitok Sarawak Plus promotions and exclusives. — DayakDaily
