Johor Baharu, Malaysia - The figures are encouraging but yet the tourism industry in Johor are facing some challenging times ahead.
The bad news is that the Senai Airport here has, for now, is no more an international flight destination, with no airlines operating direct international flights out of here.
AirAsia's Senai-Jakarta flight is no longer in operation since the beginning of the year and so is their Senai-Bangkok service. The Johor Baharu-Macau flight stopped two years ago.
Kartika Air's service between Senai to the Indonesian port city of Surabaya has also stopped flying a couple of months ago, which meant that only domestic flights operate out of Senai airport now -- a scenario which could alter the landscape as the Johor tourism department look towards foreign arrival to boost their figures.
A total of 3.72 million arrivals to the state were registered in 2009 compared to 3.69 million in 2008, which represents a 1 per cent increase, state executive councillor for tourism Hoo Seong Chang told a news conference during the launch the Malaysian Rally 2010 here today.
"I thought 2009 was a bad year for tourism given the economic downturn worldwide last year.
"But surprisingly we saw a slight increase instead, which means there is vast potential for improvement now that the economy is recovering," said Hoo.
And the good news is that the state government, with the co-operation of Senai Airport Bhd, is talking to some international airlines to operate flights out of Senai amidst the backdrop of some major tourism developments in the state.
"We have the Lego Land project and the Chelsea Simon Premiun Shopping outlets coming up by 2012, which means there is scope for more international arrivals. But we have to be ready to accommodate them.
"We see China and South Korea as important markets and there is a possibility of an airline from China flying straight into Senai. The Koreans with 17,000 arrivals last year, are also interested in operating chartered flights.
"Indonesia's Sriwijaya Air is also in talks with us and I have also met with AirAsia and our national carrier Malaysia Airlines and explained to them why they should have faith in Senai airport as an international destination," added Hoo.
He also said that out of the 23.6 million tourists to Malaysia last year, 15.7 per cent of them also visited Johor.
Source: http://www.bernama.com
The bad news is that the Senai Airport here has, for now, is no more an international flight destination, with no airlines operating direct international flights out of here.
AirAsia's Senai-Jakarta flight is no longer in operation since the beginning of the year and so is their Senai-Bangkok service. The Johor Baharu-Macau flight stopped two years ago.
Kartika Air's service between Senai to the Indonesian port city of Surabaya has also stopped flying a couple of months ago, which meant that only domestic flights operate out of Senai airport now -- a scenario which could alter the landscape as the Johor tourism department look towards foreign arrival to boost their figures.
A total of 3.72 million arrivals to the state were registered in 2009 compared to 3.69 million in 2008, which represents a 1 per cent increase, state executive councillor for tourism Hoo Seong Chang told a news conference during the launch the Malaysian Rally 2010 here today.
"I thought 2009 was a bad year for tourism given the economic downturn worldwide last year.
"But surprisingly we saw a slight increase instead, which means there is vast potential for improvement now that the economy is recovering," said Hoo.
And the good news is that the state government, with the co-operation of Senai Airport Bhd, is talking to some international airlines to operate flights out of Senai amidst the backdrop of some major tourism developments in the state.
"We have the Lego Land project and the Chelsea Simon Premiun Shopping outlets coming up by 2012, which means there is scope for more international arrivals. But we have to be ready to accommodate them.
"We see China and South Korea as important markets and there is a possibility of an airline from China flying straight into Senai. The Koreans with 17,000 arrivals last year, are also interested in operating chartered flights.
"Indonesia's Sriwijaya Air is also in talks with us and I have also met with AirAsia and our national carrier Malaysia Airlines and explained to them why they should have faith in Senai airport as an international destination," added Hoo.
He also said that out of the 23.6 million tourists to Malaysia last year, 15.7 per cent of them also visited Johor.
Source: http://www.bernama.com
