Malaysia recorded 438 weekly flights from China
BERNAMA
09/07/2024
Tourism Malaysia Director General Manoharan Periasamy (centre) poses for a commemorative photo at Qingdao Airlines' Inaugural Flight Reception at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 2 today. - BERNAMA photo
SEPANG: The number of weekly flights from China to Kuala Lumpur reached 438 flights and is expected to continue to increase this year, said Tourism Malaysia Director General P. Manoharan.
He said the figure was much better than before the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was around 370 weekly flights from the Great Wall country.
"As of July, we have 438 flights a week with a seat capacity of almost 100,000 compared to before the pandemic there were only a total of 370 flights a week.
"Before the pandemic we did not have facilities such as visa exemptions for Chinese tourists, so it is the main attraction for them to make Malaysia a tourist destination," he told reporters after the celebration ceremony for Qingdao Airlines' inaugural flight to Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Terminal 2 is here today.
Malaysia previously implemented a visa exemption initiative for a period of 30 days for Chinese and Indian citizens from 1 Dec 2023 to 31 Dec 2024.
Commenting further, Manoharan said that for the first four months of 2024, Malaysia has received as many as 959,000 Chinese tourists as a result of joint efforts with various agencies to make this country a destination of choice for Chinese people.
"So every time there is a long holiday season in China, they see Malaysia as a tourist destination that is easy to visit and there are many weekly flights not only from the country's main city but from other areas as well.
"Additionally, the durian season in Malaysia is also an attraction for them," he said.
Meanwhile, Qingdao-Kuala Lumpur return flights are made every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday with a flight time of about five hours.
The opening of a direct route from Qingdao located in Shandong province is expected to bring in 30,000 passengers throughout the year to this country.
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