WHEN Malaysia
Airlines pulled its
direct flights to SA in
early 2012, Malaysia saw an
initial 34,9% decrease in SA
passport holders travelling to
the country. But the tourism
authority hopes to grow the
market though promotions with
other airlines.
Speaking to TNW at WTM
Africa, Dato’ Azizan Noordin,
deputy dg (promotion) for
Malaysia Tourism Promotion
Board, said the tourism board
depended on carriers such
as Ethiopian Airlines, Air
Mauritius, Singapore Airlines,
EgyptAir, Qatar, Emirates
and Thai Airways. “We run
promotions with them to bring
tourists from SA.” Tourism
Malaysia also planned to
continue to run educational
tours for travel agents and
wholesalers to promote the
country, he said.
Dato’ added that the country
continued to attract travellers
who opted for packages
that combined Malaysia with
Thailand or those travelling
on Singapore Airlines. He
said this was affordable as
travellers could use an LCC
such as Air Asia, or even drive
from one country to the other.
He said families and young
couples were most interested
in visiting Malaysia but that
business tourism was picking
up, particularly for incentives.
On average, SA tourists
spent 8,5 nights in Malaysia,
spending around MYR3 156
(R10 200). Compared with the
global averages of 6,9 nights
and MYR2 500 (R8 000), the
SA market is a lucrative one.
This year, Tourism Malaysia
aims to welcome around
30 000 South African tourists.
Dato’ said the MH370
tragedy was having an impact,
especially on travel from
China, which saw more than
30 000 bookings cancelled or
suspended after the incident.
But he was confident that over
time tourism would return to
normal.
