Johor wants to increase chartered flights

BATU PAHAT: The Johor Government wants to increase the number of chartered flights to the state to boost its tourism industry.

State Tourism, Domestic Trade and Consumerism committee chairman Datuk Tee Siew Kiong said Johor was hoping to increase tourist arrivals to 4.9 million by 2015 from the 3.9 million tourists targeted this year. He said getting airlines to fly directly to the state would be one of the main focus to attract more tourists to Johor.

At present, the state received chartered flights only from Indonesian cities Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya, he added.

“Tourists from Pekan Baru, Indonesia, will land in Sultan Ibrahim International Airport in Senai starting next month. “We are also in the midst of working with tour operators to bring in 17 chartered flights from South Korea to Johor soon.

“Besides attracting tourists from Singapore, we are also looking at getting chartered flights from Hong Kong, China, Thailand and India,” he told reporters after opening Johor MATTA Fair 2013 in BP Mall here yesterday.

Tee said Johor was only a transit for many tourists to Malaysia through the south gate. “Johor has the potential as one of the important tourist destinations in the country due to its culture, food and similarities with many other countries,” he said.

Tee added that Johor also had many international-level recreational places such as theme parks which were suitable for family vacations.

He said the Desaru Coast, which would be a luxury gateway, would be completed by 2015, adding that the state also had theme parks such as Legoland and Hello Kitty Town, with the Angry Bird theme park coming up soon.

Tee said the increase in tourists to the state would benefit many tourism-related businesses such as tour agencies, restaurants and hotels. “We have to provide quality service to tourists so that they will remember us and will come back to Johor for their next vacation,” he added.

-thestar online.