AirAsia committed to grow Sarawak into regional tourism hub

AirAsia declared that the carrier is very committed to Sarawak and would continue to work closely with the State Government and its agencies especially the tourism bodies to further develop Sarawak into a regional tourism hub.

 

The carrier also hopes to provide ample job opportunities to the people of Sarawak, supported by plans by the State Government to establish a Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in the state capital in the future.

Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes said, “The government of Sarawak and its agencies have been giving us tremendous support over these years, and we are indeed proud and happy to be working closely with them to achieve the same goal; to develop Sarawak as one of the best tourist attractions in the country and to boost the state’s revenue which is beneficial to the people of the state.”

“We are very delighted that AirAsia has now secured rights to fly from Kuching and Kota Kinabalu direct to Singapore, in addition to an increased frequency for our Kuala Lumpur-Singapore sector. We look forward to service the Penang-Singapore sector as well. This is another step towards the further liberalization of aviation industry especially between Malaysia and Singapore.”

He added that the introduction of direct flights between the East Malaysian states and Singapore would be a boost for the tourism industry and the economy in general.
Dato’ Sri Tony said, “However the lack of support from Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) in granting certain airport concessions has resulted in AirAsia having to review and rationalize some of our routes from Kuching recently. MAHB’s high charges and bureaucratic management have hampered our efforts in responding to changing market conditions.”

Tony added, “We wish to reiterate that AirAsia is committed to developing both the tourism and business industry in Sarawak by opening up new air links between the State and other regional destinations. On that note, we would like to thank Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib and the Sarawak Government for the kind assistance given to AirAsia. To us, Pehin Sri is a man of vision who sees much potential for Sarawak to be a regional tourism hub. We are dedicated in achieving that vision together and ensuring its success.”

(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 09-Oct-08

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