Tourism Malaysia is confident of achieving its target of attracting over five million tourists from China this year, supported by the increased frequency of flights to the country, compared to 1.47 million visitors last year.
Tourism Malaysia, Director-General, P Manoharan said the target is based on the current frequency of flights, which stands at more than 247 flights per week with a seating capacity of nearly 4.9 million from China to Kuala Lumpur.
“We anticipate more flight frequencies and new routes in the future. Therefore, we are optimistic about welcoming over five million tourists from China this year, compared to just 1.47 million last year,” he said after welcoming the inaugural flights of Sichuan Airlines and China Southern Airlines to Kuala Lumpur last night.
Sichuan Airlines from Chengdu and China Southern Airlines from Shenzhen landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 at 10:00 PM and 12:30 AM respectively.
Manoharan also mentioned that besides Kuala Lumpur, airlines from China have shown interest in operating direct flights to major cities in Malaysia such as Penang, Johor Bahru, and Kuching.
“Sichuan Airlines has also planned to operate flights from China to Kuching. We welcome airlines from China to operate direct flights to Kuala Lumpur, in addition to charter flights.
This aligns with the ministry’s goal of increasing direct flights, especially in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2026,” he said.
He added that Tourism Malaysia would collaborate with airlines and tourism operators in Malaysia and China to increase flight frequencies to the country.
