LANGKAWI, 27 DECEMBER 2018: A total of 226 tourists from Almaty, Kazakhstan, arrived at Langkawi International Airport on a charter flight at 9.30 am today to begin their 9-day tour of Langkawi. They will indulge in the island’s best experiences by visiting places of interest and savouring local delicacies.

The Kazakhstan-Langkawi charter flight service is a result of a collaboration between Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) with Kompas Tour Operator, one of the main tour operators in Central Asia.

The collaboration sees a total of three charter flights operating between Almaty and Langkawi.

The first charter flight, which arrived today, was welcomed by the Deputy Director General of Tourism Malaysia (Promotion) Dato' Mohmed Razip Hasan, Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Management) Tuan Haji Mohd Asri Redha bin Abdul Rahman and Embassy Alliance Managing Director, Michael Mitryakov.

The second and third flights are scheduled to arrive on 4 January and 14 January 2019 respectively. Malaysia is eyeing to welcome a total of 705 passengers from Kazakhstan to Langkawi during this winter season through this charter flight service. The Boeing 757-200 model flight with expected capacity of 235 passengers per flight, operated by Sunday Airlines, will carry all passengers to Langkawi.

In 2017, Malaysia welcomed 12,577 tourists from Kazakhstan. As of September 2018, tourist arrivals from Kazakhstan registered a total of 10,411, an increase of 13.4% compared with corresponding period last year.

For further information, please contact Ms. Sharifah Hafsya at +603 8891 8363 or email sharifahhafsya@tourism.gov.my

ENDS

For more media releases, media info and media features on Malaysia’s tourism industry, kindly visit the Media Centre of Tourism Malaysia’s website at http://www.tourism.gov.my/

MALAYSIA TOURISM PROMOTION BOARD OR TOURISM MALAYSIA is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Malaysia. It focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination. Since its inception, it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene. In 2017, Malaysia registered 25.9 million tourist arrivals, placing it among the major tourism destinations of the world.

Press contact:

Media Relations Unit:

Muadz Bin Samat, Assistant Director, Corporate Communication Division
Tel: +603-8891 8755
Email: muadz@tourism.gov.my

Editorial Unit:

Anis Rozalina Ramli (Ms), Senior Editor, Corporate Communication Division
Tel: +603-8891 8759
Email: anisramli@tourism.gov.my