Sabah in push for India air links
KOTA KINABALU – Sabah is pinning its hopes for a tourism surge from India following the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Convention on September 6-9.
About 1,000 outbound operators, including Indian domestic and international airline representatives and senior managers of travel agencies, are expected to attend the four-day convention at the Sutera Harbour Resort.
Sabah authorities are pushing to secure direct air connections with the Indian sub-continent.
Sabah Tourism Board chairman Tengku Datuk Dr Zainal Adlin said the ideal airline to create the link would be national carrier Malaysia Airlines although other airlines such as SIA, Silk Air or Indian Air could also provide the service.
“Having direct connectivity with India will not only benefit Sabah but also Malaysia as a whole,” he said.
TAFI president, Praveen Chugh, said Sabah was not well known among Indian tourists simply because there was not enough aggressive marketing done to promote the destination.
Places such as Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur and Genting Highlands were more popular, he said.
Last year about 300,000 Indian travellers visited Malaysia and the figure is expected to grow by another 100,000 this year.
Ian Jarrett
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