THE Malaysian travel trade is optimistic about Lufthansa’s new Frankfurt-Kuala Lumpur service and believe the flights will increase interest in Malaysia as a destination.
Lufthansa will kick off five-times-weekly flights from Franfkurt to Kuala Lumpur and onward to Jakarta from March 30. Presently, the airline flies to Kuala Lumpur four times a week via Bangkok, thus sharing seat allocation with Bangkok-bound passengers.
Cherry Lee, executive director at World Express Tours Malaysia, commented: “The increased seat capacity is good for travel consultants handling German inbound travel, as it will allow for more people to travel non-stop from Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur.”
She added: “We will promote eco and nature tours in Borneo, Taman Negara National Park and the islands off Terengganu.”
Manfred Kurz, managing director of Diethelm Travel Malaysia, said that with signs of a recovering European economy, he anticipated a 10 to 20 per cent increase from German-speaking markets for 2014.
This year, Kurz said the company would place emphasis on destinations such as Langkawi and the islands on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia such as Redang, Perhentian and Tioman, through newly created itineraries.
