by DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, May 8: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) is actively engaging with several Malaysian airlines to explore the possibility of reinstating and expanding more direct flights between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
In a recent Facebook post, its Minister, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing highlighted that there has been a significant decline in corporate travel groups as only Saudia operates flights to Malaysia while Malaysia Airline’s capacity to Saudi Arabia remains largely allocated for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.
“I will be engaging with Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, and Batik Air to explore the possibility of reinstating direct flights and increasing more direct flight options for the leisure market,” he said.
He also encouraged tourism and travel agencies such as Al Ahram Travel and Tourism Company (ATTC) to liaise directly with these airlines to become their appointed agents.
Meanwhile, following a meeting with ATTC and its founder and chief executive officer Adnan Omar Al-Abbas, Tiong shared beyond discussions of the possibility of establishing direct flights from Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, the meeting also explored the possibility of making Malaysia a possible stopover between Saudi Arabia and other destinations such as Singapore or Australia.
Tiong added that MOTAC also continues to encourage local hospitality players to collaborate with Saudi partners such as ATTC to promote medical tourism.
“It is heartening to note that ATTC shares this vision and is keen to pursue further initiatives related to medical conferences and healthcare industry partnerships – something we very much welcome,” he said.
MOTAC had also engaged with Panda Supermarket – one of the largest retail chains in the Middle East – and reached an agreement to work together on promoting Malaysian Tourism in Saudi Arabia.
“This was equally encouraging. Looking ahead, I eagerly anticipate the Saudi authorities sending a delegation to Malaysia for a familiarisation visit, paving the way for us to deepen support and boost two-way tourist flows,” Tiong said. – DayakDaily
