KUCHING: Increasing direct flights to Sarawak will be in vain if air fares are unreasonable, says Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts was asked by the media whether or not there would be an increase in incoming direct flights.
According to him, most tourists did not want to spend too much on airfares and therefore would decide not to come to Sarawak.
“If the price of a flight ticket from Peninsular Malaysia to Sarawak costs RM1,000 or more, they might think they can spend it elsewhere in the Peninsular rather than here.
“So, there is no point in having many direct flights if the airfare is high.”
Despite this, he said Sarawak was trying to get as many direct flights as possible to further improve its tourism industry.
“People can expect good news about direct routes between the state and other places outside Sarawak this year.
“We will try to get as many direct flights to Sarawak as possible.
“And there will definitely be several announcements on this matter from now until the end of this year,” he added.
He was at the press conference to launch the Sia Sitok Sarawak 4.0 Campaign and the Sia Sitok 3.0 Accommodation today.
