ID :
153640
Thu, 12/16/2010 - 10:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/153640
The shortlink copeid
CHARTER FLIGHTS BRING IN MORE FINNISH TOURIST
LANGKAWI (Kedah, Malaysia), Dec 16 (Bernama) -- The arrival of 13 direct charter
flights from Helsinki, Finland to northern island resort of Langkawi beginning
Wednesday until March 2 next year, signals a surge of arrivals from the
Scandinavian and Baltic countries as well as Russia for this winter holiday
season.
The first flight by Finn Air arrived at 6.45pm Wednesday at the Langkawi
International Airport, carrying 223 passengers.
Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen said the direct charter flights expected to bring
in 2,899 tourists to Malaysia during this period.
"We realise that the Finland market has been underperforming. My trip to
Helsinki in November last year was made to specifically address this problem and
to find ways to boost their arrivals. I’m very happy to see this response from
the trade members there," she said in a statement, here wednesday.
However, she also hoped that the success of this venture would prompt the
aviation industry to see the potential of this route and take the necessary
action to introduce a regular flight to Malaysia.
"Finland is among the important tourist markets for Malaysia. For a small
country – with a population of only 5.4 million the total number of departures
and the travelling population is relatively high," she said.
She said that among the Finns, there was definitely a general interest in
holidaying abroad.
"One of the challenges facing this market is the lack of direct flights
connecting Finland to Malaysia. However, Malaysia is an appealing destination as
it is a value-for-money holiday destination with favourable exchange rates," she
said.
Although Malaysia had been seeing increased arrivals from Finland over the
years, Ng said there was a decline in numbers since 2008 due in part to the
global economic crisis and rising fuel prices.
"But the efforts to boost arrivals have shown positive signs of recovery, as
from January to August 2010, Malaysia received a total of 14,732 tourists from
Finland, signalling a 9.7 per cent increase over the same period last year.
-- BERNAMA
flights from Helsinki, Finland to northern island resort of Langkawi beginning
Wednesday until March 2 next year, signals a surge of arrivals from the
Scandinavian and Baltic countries as well as Russia for this winter holiday
season.
The first flight by Finn Air arrived at 6.45pm Wednesday at the Langkawi
International Airport, carrying 223 passengers.
Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen said the direct charter flights expected to bring
in 2,899 tourists to Malaysia during this period.
"We realise that the Finland market has been underperforming. My trip to
Helsinki in November last year was made to specifically address this problem and
to find ways to boost their arrivals. I’m very happy to see this response from
the trade members there," she said in a statement, here wednesday.
However, she also hoped that the success of this venture would prompt the
aviation industry to see the potential of this route and take the necessary
action to introduce a regular flight to Malaysia.
"Finland is among the important tourist markets for Malaysia. For a small
country – with a population of only 5.4 million the total number of departures
and the travelling population is relatively high," she said.
She said that among the Finns, there was definitely a general interest in
holidaying abroad.
"One of the challenges facing this market is the lack of direct flights
connecting Finland to Malaysia. However, Malaysia is an appealing destination as
it is a value-for-money holiday destination with favourable exchange rates," she
said.
Although Malaysia had been seeing increased arrivals from Finland over the
years, Ng said there was a decline in numbers since 2008 due in part to the
global economic crisis and rising fuel prices.
"But the efforts to boost arrivals have shown positive signs of recovery, as
from January to August 2010, Malaysia received a total of 14,732 tourists from
Finland, signalling a 9.7 per cent increase over the same period last year.
-- BERNAMA
