Facilitating bilateral travel with Kunming

MEMBERS of the Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) Johor Chapter embarked on a promotional tour to Kunming, China, to promote Johor’s tourism products.

The main objectives of the trip included promoting Johor’s tourism resources, highlighting Malaysia’s existing visa-free policy and introducing the latest second-home policy.

Additionally, invitations were extended to foster direct flights to the Johor Baru Senai Airport.

During the visit, association members also engaged with teams from Lucky Airlines and Ruili Airlines, both based at Kunming Airport.

Representatives of both airlines demonstrated significant interest in direct flights since these would enhance travel convenience for residents of both regions and also enable travellers from Johor to use Kunming as a hub to connect to various cities in China.

While in Kunming, MCTA co-hosted an industry exchange and promotion dinner with Tourism Promotion Board of Malaysia Guangzhou Office (South China Region) director Aaron Gan.

Guests included the consul-general of Malaysia in Kunming Mohammed Akmal Abdul Wahab, department of culture and tourism of Yunnan province deputy director-general Lou Kewei and Kunming Tourism Association president Zhu Bowei.

During the meeting, more than 20 major tour operators in Kunming expressed their interest in promoting their products and services to Malaysians.

In his speech, MCTA Johor Chapter chairman Edwin Tay emphasised that Johor’s tourism products would captivate travellers from Yunnan Province.

He encouraged them to explore the state instead of limiting themselves to transit cities.

The meeting also featured invitations to major local air charter operators to explore the possibility of expediting direct flights through charter flights before official launches.

The delegation, led by Tay, also included MCTA Johor Chapter’s vice-chairman Ken Oh, treasurer Paisley Tan, and committee members Chloe Teo, Jasmine Tan and William Chong.