Tourist arrivals to Malaysia are expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels this year, buoyed by enhanced air connectivity and a simplified entry process for tourists from the top two medium-haul markets in terms of arrivals, China and India.
Musa Yusof, the deputy director-general (promotion) of Tourism Malaysia, shared this optimistic outlook during a tourism forum in Kuala Lumpur in December 2023. He anticipates that tourist arrivals for the current year will exceed the previous record of 26.1 million set in 2019.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with China, the Malaysian government has implemented a 30-day visa-free entry for Chinese nationals.
This initiative has been extended to Indian nationals as well, with the aim of fostering increased tourism and economic development within the country. The visa-free entry for both Chinese and Indian nationals will be in effect until December 31, 2024.
Tiong King Sing, Malaysia’s minister of tourism, arts, and culture, emphasised the importance of the visa exemption for Chinese and Indian tourists, the top two medium-haul markets for Malaysia, in stimulating industry growth and recovery.
He said: “Indirectly, this will be able to boost the economy of tourism-related industries such as hospitality, retail, transport, tours and so forth.”
Airlines connecting Malaysia with China and India have also announced increased services – China Eastern Airlines will commence new services between Nanjing and Kuching from June 24 with three weekly flights, and introduce daily flights from Shanghai to Penang from July 24.
Tourism Malaysia’s director-general, Ammar Abd Ghapar, revealed in January that the board is engaged in discussions with various Chinese airlines to institute direct flights linking smaller provinces or “second-tier cities” in both China and Malaysia.
This initiative aims to enable travellers from less prominent regions in China to easily visit Malaysia, eliminating the necessity to journey to major airports and consequently reducing travel time.
AirAsia will also increase capacity on its flights between China-Malaysia and India-Malaysia to 230 weekly flights starting from 1Q2024, with up to 5.2 million seats per year.
AirAsia Malaysia recently inaugurated a new service between Kuala Lumpur and Thiruvananthapuram on February 21 with four weekly flights and it will soon launch new services from Kuala Lumpur to Jaipur from April 21 with four weekly departures.
On May 1, AirAsia will launch a new direct route connecting Kuala Lumpur with Ahmedabad with four weekly flights, which will serve as AirAsia’s first step into the state of Gujarat from Malaysia, further cementing its foothold in South Asia.
Additionally, the airline has outlined plans to progressively enhance the frequency of its current services linking Kuala Lumpur with Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Kochi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata.
Wong Hon Wai, Penang state minister for tourism and creative economy at the seventh edition of the Penang Roadshow to India 2024 that was held in Chennai in January, said that discussions were in progress between the state government and an Indian airline for direct flights between Chennai and Penang.
AirAsia Aviation Group CEO, Tharumalingam Kanagalingam, shared: “India has always been one of our biggest markets and we are thrilled to enhance our connectivity to the country at this opportune time following the government’s recent announcement of visa-free entry for Indian nationals to Malaysia.”
As air travel continues to rebound, two major international airports are gearing up for the anticipated increase in passenger arrivals in the coming years.
The expansion of the Penang International Airport terminal building is set to commence this September. The project is expected to take 48 months to complete. Upon its conclusion, the expanded terminal will have the capacity to accommodate 12 million passengers per annum from the current maximum capacity of 6.5 million.
In addition, Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1, the country’s primary gateway, is set to undergo a comprehensive three-year renovation starting next year when the terminal capacity reaches 90 per cent.
This initiative aims to address operational challenges and enhance facilities. Iskandar Mizal Mahmood, the managing director of Malaysia Airports Holdings, has outlined areas in need of improvements and these include self-baggage drop-offs, a redesign of check-in counters, implementation of new aerotrain and baggage handling systems, and the introduction of new F&B outlets and lounges.
He most recently served as area general manager in Central China, where he oversaw the operations and performance of eight Hilton and Conrad hotels.
Korean Air is discussing with Airbus to procure 33 A350 family aircraft, which includes 27 A350-1000s and six A350-900s, valued at US$13.7 billion.
The order will supplement the airline’s long-term fleet operations as it gradually retires its older aircraft. The procurement of the next-generation, eco-friendly A350 is not only aligned with the airlines’ sustainability efforts, but is seen also as preparation for the integration of Asiana Airlines.
The A350-1000 is the largest in the A350 family, and can accommodate from 350 to 410 passengers in a standard three-class configuration. The aircraft makes use of advanced composite materials, resulting in reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions of up to 25 per cent, in comparison to similarly sized previous generation aircraft models.
With the longest flight range among existing passenger aircraft, the A350-1000 can operate up to 16,000km with full payload.
The A350-900 variant is about seven metres shorter than the A350-1000 with a range of 15,370km and typically seats 300-350 passengers in a three class layout. The airline can deploy the aircraft on its longhaul routes such as Seoul Incheon-New York, where the airline currently operates two daily flights.
Korean Air continues to prioritise fleet modernisation and reduction of carbon emissions through the operation of new aircraft and other sustainability activities. It has plans to introduce 50 Airbus A321neos, 10 Boeing 787-9s, 20 Boeing 787-10s, and 30 Boeing 737-8s.