Sarawak to consider foreign airlines to boost tourism

Tourism players need to work closely with foreign airlines as the recent share swap between Malaysia Airlines Systems Bhd (MAS) and AirAsia Bhd (AirAsia) might have a negative impact on Sarawak.

“When airlines rationalise their fleet, frequencies, destinations within the country and abroad as well as down-size more often than not there is a negative impact on areas of coverage. The tie-up in this case will have a negative impact on the state,” STB chief executive officer Datuk Rashid Khan told reporters during the breaking of fast with tourism industry stakeholders and media representatives here at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching late Thursday evening.

According to Rashid, Sarawak was highly dependent on air accessibility being an island and it became a very strategic issue of concern especially when the state was growing positively in terms of visitor arrivals.

He said Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (Malaysia Airports) which strategised at inviting foreign airlines to operate through incentive programmes such as three years free landing and parking was a good strategy that could be used to highlight to foreign airlines.

“The aviation policy worldwide is heading to more deregulation and liberalisation so somehow we have to ask ourselves why we are not moving in sync with that trend of liberalisation,” Rashid lamented.

Rashid suggested that the upcoming World Routes meeting in Berlin would be a good opportunity to offer incentives and coordinate slots for the airlines that would be attending.

“So we would like to go there and talk to many airlines and convince the airlines especially around the region as the economies of South East Asia are stable,” Rashid said.

Based on the World Travel Organisation estimates, by 2020 about 100 million Chinese tourists would travel abroad.

“We need to do a lot of marketing and engagement with the airlines to showcase what we have to offer. For an airline, its assets are movable. If it operates without being profitable there is no future, it will just pull out and park its assets elsewhere, unlike a convention centre which cannot be moved,” he added.

Speaking about the airport tax, Rashid said that it would only create a marginal impact to the tourism industry in Sarawak because airport tax is normally paid by customers and not the airlines.

“Even in the low cost environment, prices are lower particularly in the medium and long haul routes, when visitors come to this part of the world, airport tax is just a very small percentage of their total expenditure,” Rashid said.

Comparing airport taxes around the region, Rashid said that the tax in the country was comparatively very low.

Source - theborneopost