Malaysian tourism unfazed by the haze

Despite the worsening of the haze situation as the smog moves north in Malaysia, major inbound travel agencies in Kuala Lumpur said there had been no cancellations or postponements in bookings so far.
 
The Air Pollutant Index (API), Malaysia’s version of the Pollutant Standards Index, hit critical levels over the weekend, prompting Malaysia’s prime minister to declare a state of emergency in Muar and Ledang in Johor on Sunday after API readings crossed 750, according to local newspaper The Star.
 
Tina Travel & Agencies managing director, Adam Kamal, said tours to Resorts World Genting and city tours around Kuala Lumpur were going on as usual. “Forward bookings from the Indian market are still coming in for Diwali and the year-end winter holiday season.”
 
Mani Ponniah, manager at Explore The Wonders Wholesale Travel, a company strong in Middle East inbound to Malaysia, said: “There are no cancellations because of the haze. However, we are keeping our partner agents informed of the situation. There are still bookings coming in until July 10,  after which movement is slow during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Post-Eid bookings are still coming in.
 
“We are running tours as normal and these are mainly to Kuala Lumpur, Sunway Lagoon Theme Park, Resorts World Genting, Langkawi and Penang.”
 
Similarly Manfred Kurz, managing director of Diethelm Travel Malaysia, which handles traffic from the European inbound market, revealed that tours were running as usual on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. “However, we are receiving fewer forward bookings from Europe for July and August,” he observed.
 
Malaysia Airlines yesterday issued a press statement warning passengers of possible last-minute cancellations and retimings due to the “current haze situation which had deteriorated in parts of Malaysia over the last few days”.
 
It further stated that specific stations were under close watch for possible closure or interruptions, namely Kuantan’s Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport, Kota Baru’s Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, Kuala Terengganu’s Sultan Mahmud Airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
 
When contacted today, Azmi Murad, senior general manager operation services at Malaysia Airports, said all Malaysian airports under its management were operating as usual.
-TTG Asia.