Malaysia, here we come

Dwindling profits and higher fuel costs may have led AirAsia X to cancel its Indian and European routes but a focus on regional markets, including the hotly anticipated Kuala Lumpur to Sydney route, falls in line with tourism strategies listed in the government’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

AirAsia X’s Sydney to Kuala Lumpur route will be launched on April 1 and the daily service has the potential to bring 55,000 additional Australian visitiors to Kuala Lumpur annually. The new flight path follows strategic points laid out in 2010 by the Economic Transformation Prog-ramme: A Roadmap for Malaysia to increase flight frequencies to 10 priority cities in Australia, China, India, South Korea and Taiwan.

The ETP expects these countries to make up more than 90% of “medium-haul” international tourists by 2020, a group which is expected to triple to 43% of all foreign visitors to Malaysia. “It is thus critical to focus on the key cities within these six countries where there is a significant connectivity gap today, namely Beijing, Delhi, Melbourne, Mumbai, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei and Tokyo,” the ETP states in Chapter 10: Revving up the Tourism Industry.

“In parallel, the Transport Ministry will focus its effort on increasing air rights to the countries that currently have restricted air rights (primarily Australia, India and Japan).” Sydney’s Kingsford-Smith International airport is the largest international gateway to Australia. Until AirAsia X’s announcement on Jan 17 that it would begin a daily service, Malaysian Airlines had a monopoly on the Kuala Lumpur to Sydney route.

With an advertising campaign and word-of-mouth publicity, AirAsia X’s $99 (RM316) one way fares from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur were snapped up by thousands of Australians in the first five days they were available on the company’s website. Angela Zanette, 27, from Sydney booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur with AirAsia X after her friend spotted the cheap fares in a local newspaper.

Travelling 10 days across Malaysia, Zanette is expecting to spend $2,000 (RM6,400) on accommodation, food, cultural experiences and shopping — almost triple the average spending of international tourists to Malaysia. She said without the budget carrier, an overseas holiday to Malaysia would not have been an option. “When I think about travelling in Asia, I don’t really think of KL. The AirAsia route and the cost was the most influential thing in my decision to travel there.”

Frequent Sydney travellers to South-East Asia were also lured by the cheap deals from AirAsia X. Retired airline employee Gillian Moynihan, 71, said AirAsia X’s announcement to fly from Sydney hastened her preparations for her third trip to Kuala Lumpur. “I saw a promo ad in the newspaper while having coffee at my local cafe,” said Moynihan. “I had plans (to go to Kuala Lumpur) but no air bookings. The ad prompted me to act quickly.”

Currently, more than 600,000 Australians visit Malaysia every year, ranking as the seventh largest source of overseas tourists to Malaysia. Although this number is comparatively small given the more than 24 million international tourists that visited Malaysia in 2010, reasons including the higher Australian dollar, affordable, quality hotels and AirAsia X’s newly opened flight path are giving thousands of Australians new incentives to travel here.

“Australia is a key market for AirAsia X and the Sydney route has long been a priority due to strong demand from Sydneysiders who have been screaming out for more competition,” AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said at a press conference in Sydney earlier this year. “Our goal has always been to make international travel affordable for everyone, and now Sydneysiders can access Kuala Lumpur which is the gateway to exotic destinations across our growing network at affordable low fares.”

-thestar online.