Increased Connectivity Set To Bring In More Tourists From Australia To Malaysia

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA, 7 JUNE 2018: Malaysia is eyeing more tourists from Australia, with the increased airline connectivity between the two destinations by Malaysia Airlines and Malindo Air recently.

The reinstatement of Malaysia Airlines’ direct flight between Brisbane and Kuala Lumpur which commenced on 6 June sees the airline fly four times per week, with a total of 1,160 seat capacity weekly.

Australians will also have the choice of flying Malindo Air’s newly launched daily flights from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur via Denpasar, Indonesia, beginning 7 June 2018. It offers 1,125 weekly seats.

With the increased flight capacity, there are now a total of 123 weekly flights offered by three Malaysian airlines (Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air and AirAsia X) with 37,065 weekly seats. Malaysia is now easily accessible via major Australian cities, namely, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Gold Coast.

Tourism Malaysia’s Director General, Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab said, “It is no secret that the Australian market has always been an important market for Malaysia. The addition of these flights by Malaysia Airlines and Malindo Air will certainly help boost our efforts to attract more Australians to Malaysia.”

He added, “I look forward to see greater collaboration by the tour and travel industry operators in Australia and Malaysia and I hope they will take this opportunity to develop attractive packages and promote the flow of tourists between the two countries.”

Last year, Malaysia welcomed 351,232 Australian tourists to Malaysia. This year, the target is to welcome 695,500 Australian tourists.

Malaysia Airlines is celebrating the reinstatement of its Brisbane-Kuala Lumpur flight today in Brisbane with some 60 guests consisting of Malaysia Airlines management team, the Australian tourism industry players and media representatives. The Australian Assistant Minister for Tourism Industry Development, Ms. Meaghan Scanlon, and Director of Tourism Malaysia Sydney office, Mr. Ahmad Esa were also present.

Meanwhile, on 8 June, Tourism Malaysia, represented by Mr. Zulkafli Yahya, Senior Director of International Promotions (Americas, Europe and Oceania), and Malindo Air are hosting a cocktail event in Melbourne for a total of 120 Australian agents, media representatives and corporate guests to celebrate the launch of its new flight.

To promote the new route, Malindo Air is offering passengers who have purchased tickets the opportunity to fly Malindo domestic flights to Langkawi or Penang for free. The sale period is from 4 to 17 June 2018, while the travel period will begin from June 2018 till February 2019.

-Tourism Malaysia.