KUCHING: The Sarawak tourism industry is projected to have a greater boost next year following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) involving Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) and Hainan Airlines and ATS Global Travel and Charter Sdn Bhd.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah witnessed the historic event of the signing of MOU between STB and Hainan Airlines yesterday.
STB was represented by chairman Datuk Abdul Wahab Aziz and Hainan Airlines was represented by Yang Lei from Hainan Airlines Holding Company Limited.
As for the MOU between STB and ATS Global Travel and Charter Sdn Bhd, STB was represented by Datuk Abdul Wahab Aziz while ATS Global Travel and Charter Sdn Bhd was represented by its executive director Mohd Sharom Mabol.
Abdul Karim in his speech said with these agreements, it is definitely a good sign for Sarawak in welcoming the year 2020.
“This gives me a lot of encouragement because we will be seeing a lot of good things in the next one year for Sarawak,” he said during the signing ceremony at Hilton Hotel yesterday.
Abdul Karim said the MOU with Hainan Airlines, which would be the first time the airline operates in the state, will see direct flights from Haikou to Kuching.
“The flight is scheduled to fly on March 2020 and there will two to three flights per week by using B737-800 aircraft with 164 seats,” he said.
On the other MOU with ATS Global Travel and Charter Sdn Bhd, he said with this agreement it is aiming to make Kuching as an umrah hub.
“This will provide umrah flight using Kuching as an alternative umrah gateway serving route from Kuching to Jeddah, Kuching to Madinah vis-a-vis,” he said.
The umrah flights will begin to take off in April 2020 next year, offering four flights in a week.
He added that the ministry will also look into setting up a proper one-stop location for pilgrims to stay in Kuching before continuing their journey to the Holy Land.
“As such, this will make Kuching a very exciting place and definitely help boost up the tourism industry in Sarawak.
“My hope for the next one year will be a good year for us because it is also Visit Malaysia Year 2020. It is the hope of the state government and tourism industry to see all these will have a good impact on our economy,” he said.
Last year, another milestone for STB was the signing of MOU between the board and Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) to stimulate visitors’ arrival between Brunei and Kuching.
On another note, Abdul Karim said next year there will be another MOU with another sector, however he could not reveal it at press time.
