THE Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) remains optimistic it can double arrivals from Scandinavian markets this year in spite of the recent announcement last month that Finnair will shelve plans for direct Helsinki-Kuala Lumpur flights, due to begin in May.
LADA participated for the first time in the three-day annual MATKA Nordic Travel Fair last month in Helsinki. A total of 88,953 people visited the booth, comprising both trade and consumers.
LADA general manager, Mr Kamarulzaman Abdul Ghani, said: "This was the first time we ran out of brochures at a travel fair."
At the fair, LADA also met wholesalers selling Malaysia - Tjareborg, Finmatkat and Suomen Matkatoimisto - and tried to persuade them to increase pages on Malaysia in their upcoming brochures, Mr Kamarulzaman added.
LADA also met up with Finnair representatives to discuss increasing charter flights to Langkawi, possibly on a regular basis. Mr Kamarulzaman said there were about three or four a year that came in during the winter period.
Finnair offers daily flights from Helsinki to Bangkok. From Bangkok, Langkawi is a two-hour flight via AirAsia's thrice-weekly services.
Additionally, LADA hopes to get Thai agents to package Langkawi.
Source : TTG
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]
No comments:
Post a Comment