In support of inbound tourism Visa has announced its partnership with Mid Valley Megamall. At the event, (from left) Ng, Tourism Malaysia Package Development Division director Syed Yahya Syed Othman, Tourism Malaysia Package Development Division Secretariat Shopping Malaysia head, Norliza Md Zain and Mid Valley City chief executive officer Daniel Yong. KUALA LUMPUR: In support of Visit Malaysia 2020, and its target of achieving 30 million international tourist arrivals, Visa has unrolled a series of initiatives to promote inbound tourism. “We have year-long promotions and offers in various parts of Malaysia including Klang Valley, Johor Baru and Penang. Visa cardholders can enjoy discounts and benefits at family attractions such as Legoland, Desaru Coast Adventure Waterpark, and KidZania, other outlets like BH Petrol and Swarovski, as well as hospitals such as ParkCity Medical Centre and Subang Jaya Medical Centre,” says Visa country manager for Malaysia, Ng Kong Boon. Aside from establishing partnerships with such attractions, hotels and dining outlets, the company has also established tie-ups with major shopping malls to roll out attractive promotions in an effort to play its part in promoting Visit Malaysia 2020. To this end, Visa has announced its partnership with Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur recently on Dec 12. Being the world’s leader in digital payments, this partnership seeks to encourage tourists to use digital payment for their purchases during the festive season. With this campaign Visa cardholders can make payment with their contactless card for purchases made at Mid Valley Megamall here and The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey, Johor Baru, to be eligible for redemption gifts. To sweeten the deal, when they shop on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and on the eve of public holidays and on public holidays, they will also receive eco-friendly metal straws and pans as giveaways for transactions about RM200 and RM350 respectively. For the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration, Visa and Mid Valley will be introducing another campaign from Jan 5, 2020 to Feb 2, 2020 where Visa cardholders will receive Toys “R” Us vouchers when they spend minimum RM350 with their contactless cards. Ng notes a tremendous growth in adoption of digital payment. Visa cardholders in Melaka are also in for a treat as Visa has also partnered with Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall, Terminal Pahlawan and Hatten Square. From now till Jan 2, 2020 Visa cardholders will receive a specially designed Barbie canvas shopping bag when they spend minimum RM300 using their contactless cards. According to Ng, this is part of the effort to propel adoption of digital payment, which has seen a tremendous growth due to the introduction of e-wallets. Furthermore, digital payments are a more convenient and safe way to making payment, as no physical cash is involved and tourists do not need to walk around with a big amount of local currency. “Many people have the impression that the exchange rate applied when using their cards to make payment in a foreign currency is not as good as what they can get at a money changer. However, this is not necessarily true, as the exchange rate offered by the banks are just as competitive. “We are extremely excited to promote Malaysia as a tourist destination, especially to our neighbours in Asia Pacific. Based on our data, Singaporeans, Indonesians and the Chinese are the top spenders when they travel to Malaysia. During this festive period, we are partnering with malls frequented by tourists to encourage them to use their payment cards, particularly contactless payments, when they make their purchases here. These promotions are designed to help boost tourism spend as part of the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign, “ Ng said. ~The Star~
Nasi Goreng Pattaya, or simply nasi pattaya, is a Southeast Asian fried rice dish made by covering or wrapping chicken fried rice, in thin fried egg or omelette. Despite its name, the dish is believed to originate from Malaysia, and today is also commonly found in Indonesia and Singapore. It is often served with chili sauce, tomato ketchup, slices of cucumber, and keropok. ~wikipedia~
A friendlier Immigration experience
Immigration officers will be taught basic Mandarin and other essential languages in an effort to provide a friendlier service at the country’s entry points.
Besides easing communication, Immigration Department director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud (pic) said the move was also made in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign.
“As part of our ongoing effort to improve the Immigration Department, we want to enhance our counter service, especially at the KLIA (KL International Airport) and other airports.
“Our officers must provide a friendly service because they are our visitors’ first impression of the country when they arrive.
“Those who are stationed at counters will be taught a basic level of Mandarin and other languages to help ease communication, ” he said in an interview ahead of the Immigration Department Day celebrations today.
Khairul Dzaimee, who took over the helm of the department in January this year, said one of his focus areas was personal development for all his officers.
“For me, training and upskilling of our officers is a very important aspect.
“This year, we increased the training period for our cadet officers to four months.
“As for existing officers, they, too, will be required to attend intensive courses to improve themselves, ” he said.
He also spoke on instilling integrity among Immigration officers.
“My wish is for the Immigration Department to be an enforcement agency that is respected by all because of the integrity of our officers, ” he added. Besides training, Khairul Dzaimee said the department would also beef up its enforcement operations.
“When I inherited the department, we already had a policy where there is no day without an enforcement operation.
“I continued that policy and we intend to increase it further.
“With the Back For Good (B4G) amnesty programme ending on Dec 31, we will ensure that on Jan 1 we will go ahead with our enforcement efforts on a massive scale.
“There will be no compromise for illegal immigrants who are caught after the programme, ” he said.
Khairul Dzaimee also said the department did not intend to extend the deadline of the Back For Good programme.
“As we are approaching the deadline, we see the queues at the Immigration Department getting longer and we expect this to increase further.
“To accommodate this, we have extended our operating hours from 5pm to 10pm on weekdays. We also open on Saturdays until 3pm.
“However, the Home Ministry has made it clear that there will be no extension of the Dec 31 deadline, ” he added.
The B4G programme was introduced this year as an effort to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the country.
Under the programme, illegal immigrants are allowed to return home without punishment as long as they pay a RM700 compound and can produce flight tickets. On the Immigration Department Day celebrations, Khairul Dzaimee said for the first time, the department would honour outstanding officers with medals. The department would also be giving out a special award to an individual for his lifelong contribution to the department.
~The Star~
Malaysia records more than 20 million tourists in first 9 months of 2019 Malaysia saw positive growth in the tourism sector in the first half of this year, boosted by stronger international tourist arrivals. International tourist arrivals stood at 20,109,203 tourists between January and September, an increase of 3.7 per cent, compared to 19,386,115 visitors during the same period last year. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said the top 10 countries with the highest contribution of tourist arrivals was Singapore with 7,868,755 visitors, followed by Indonesia (2,792,776); China (2,413,956); Thailand (1,442,224); Brunei (929,789); India (539,167); South Korea (508,080); Vietnam (323,393); Japan (321,283) and the Philippines (317,294). “Tourist receipts for the same period in 2019 reached RM66.14 billion compared to RM61.85 billion for the same period in 2018, indicating an increase of 6.9 per cent. “The main contributors to the tourist expenditure were Singapore (RM16.3 billion), China (RM12.8 billion), Indonesia (RM8.8 billion), Thailand (RM2.8 billion) and India (RM2.5 billion). “Per capita expenditure for the period of January to September also grew by 3.1 per cent from RM3,190.5 to RM3,289.3,” he said today in announcing the third quarter performance of the tourism sector. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi left). - NSTP/LUQMAN HAKIM ZUBIR. The short haul market, Mohamaddin said, had retained its position as the largest contributor of tourists to Malaysia with a share of 68.7 per cent. The contribution of tourists from the medium haul market was 21.6 per cent, while the share of tourists from the long haul market was 9.7 per cent, he added. “The highest per capita according to market distance saw Saudi Arabia recording the most for long haul at RM11,394.4; China at RM5,301.5 for medium haul and Vietnam at RM3,356.3 for short haul.” The minister also said the haze which had shrouded Malaysia and neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Brunei had affected the momentum of tourist arrivals. “I believe the tourist arrivals could be better without the haze.” Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Musa Yusof said he believed that Malaysia would be able to achieve this year’s tourist arrival target of 28 million. He said there would be a significant number of tourist arrivals towards the year end, especially in December from countries experiencing winter. Malaysia normally records about 2.5 million tourist arrivals in Dec. On tourist arrivals from China, Musa said Malaysia was still favoured by visitors from the country. ~New Straits Times~
NETS payment now available in KL, Melaka and Penang Singaporean shoppers headed to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Melaka will now be able to make purchases with their NETS ATM card. The number of NETS acceptance points across Malaysia have increased from 4,500 to 7,400 points, and they can now be found in the three major cities in addition to Johor Bahru, said NETS and its Malaysian counterpart Payment Network Malaysia (PayNet) on Friday (Nov 29). The service has expanded since it was first introduced in November 2018, when NETS said that Singapore consumers could use their NETS ATM cards in Johor Bahru malls like JB City Square, Sutera Mall and KSL City Mall. Now, Singapore bank card holders who shop at KLIA 2 and Sunway Pyramid in Kuala Lumpur, Queensbay Mall in Penang as well as Makhota Parade and Dataran Pahlawan in Melaka will be able to pay with NETS. The services will be available at multiple outlets, including retailers that are popular among Singaporeans such as Giant Hypermarket, pharmacy Guardian, medicinal store Eu Yan Sang and bak kwa chain Bee Cheng Hiang. Malaysian travellers to Singapore may now also make purchases using MyDebit ATM cards, Malaysia’s national debit card scheme through 500 acceptance points. MyDebit may be used through NETS' network of merchants at Bugis Village, as well as outlets like Apple retailer iStudio, Pandora, Awfully Chocolate and Salad Stop!. The initiative was first announced in a joint statement in April by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong. EXCHANGE RATE "ALMOST THE SAME AS" MONEY CHANGERS In an interview with CNA, Group CEO of NETS Jeffrey Goh highlighted that exchange rates will be competitive for Singaporean visitors who can now use NETS ATM cards instead of bringing wads of cash when they shop in Malaysia. “So for example, when Singaporeans go to the grocer, and you don’t have enough cash, (this NETS service) gives them an option. It also gives them peace of mind knowing that we don’t charge them high forex rates,” said Mr Goh. While the exchange rate could vary with every purchase, Mr Goh said that it was "almost the same as the money changers". “For merchants, NETS service will bring customers to them. And customers (might) make bigger orders too as it's convenient for them,” he said. When CNA visited an optician retailer at JB City Square, a Singaporean shopper who bought contact lenses with his NETS ATM card was charged with a conversion rate of S$1 to RM3.0248. The rate was similar to the selling rate of S$1 to RM3.03 offered at a money changer at the same mall. Singaporean Muhd Ismail Hassan, who visited JB City Square for a day trip, told CNA that expanding the use of NETS ATM card services to Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Penang was a good idea. “When we travel up, we don’t have to carry S$1,000 to S$2,000 of cash anymore. It’s more convenient for us when we shop at the malls in these places,” he said. Mr Goh said that NETS is looking to increase the number of acceptance points to restaurants and shopping outlets in Malaysia that are popular among Singaporeans. He added that NETS is working with PayNet to offer QR code payments “within the next six months” for customers. This means that Singaporean visitors to Malaysia, or Malaysian visitors to Singapore, will be able to make purchases via cashless payments services such as DBS PayLah via QR code transactions through their smartphones. NETS was also working with partners in Indonesia and Thailand to enable cross-border instant fund transfers and QR payments in the future, he said. Source: CNA/am(hm)
Decision on Airbnb next year, says Tourism D-G Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Musa Yusof said to address the problem, the committee would continue to discuss the issue to find suitable solution. -BERNAMA The task force on short-term residential accommodation, Airbnb will announce its decision by early next year, Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Musa Yusof said today. He said the task force was set up to regulate Airbnb accommodations nationwide and would take note of examples from other countries such as France, Singapore and Japan. “We will look into the issue. What we have implemented throu\gh the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry and the agency under the Housing and Local Government Ministry, is that we already set up a task force to look at what other countries have implemented in terms of Airbnb-type rentals. “We expect to announce the decision early next year and it needs to be regulated. For example, in some locations, Airbnb accommodations are allowed but not in the big cities where there are hotels available,” he told reporters after launching the Visit Malaysia (VMY) 2020 Kick Off conference here today. He said this in response to complaints made by hoteliers who claimed of experiencing a decline in occupancy rate despite the high number of tourists arriving in the country as most of them were choosing Airbnb. Musa said to address the problem, the committee would continue to discuss the issue to find suitable solution. “The concept of Airbnb in Europe and the US are different than it is in Asia. The Airbnb accommodations that I used to stay at, either in Europe or in the US, the guests stayed with the hosts, and we already have this concept here for the past 30 years and we call it homestay. Homestay is more for the experiences while Airbnb is more of an accommodation. Only in Malaysia, the visitors are not staying with the owner and this will be regulated,” he said. He said the matter would be looked at as a whole as there were several joint management bodies had disallowed Airbnb to operate in the condominium building as it was viewed as disruption. Meanwhile, commenting on the conference, he said it was launched to further promote the promotional activities of the VMY 2020 campaign in the northern states. -- Bernama
Overload caused KTM server crash KTM Bhd (KTMB) attributed “overwhelming demand” for ETS tickets that caused its ticketing servers to crash on Monday, frustrating tens of thousands of commuters. The deluge, according to KTMB chief executive officer Datuk Kamarulzaman Zainal, came from the combination of demand associated with year-end school holidays, Christmas, Chinese New Year and Thaipusam, all of which was taking place from December until the end of February. “We used to sell our tickets on a month-to-month basis but as we managed to secure a confirmed schedule from the contractor of the Klang Valley Double Track (KVDT) rehabilitation, we decided to open up the sale for the three-month block,” he told a press conference. The KVDT rehabilitation is a massive project that had caused severe disruption to KTMB’s services running within the Klang Valley over the past few years as cargo, intercity, Komuter and ETS trains share either a pair of tracks and at work bottlenecks, only a single track. Kamarulzaman said KTMB did its calculations before opening for the three-month block for sale on Monday. “By our estimation, the ticketing system is supposed to be able to deal with the load,” he said adding that KTMB was also saddled with a “legacy” IT infrastructure that was purchased in 2000. “It took up to 30 minutes to sell one ticket on Monday, and yesterday the time dropped to two minutes. “We are truly sorry our customers had such an unpleasant experience,” he said, adding that the improvement was the result of several quick measures that were immediately implemented to address the situation. Firstly, KTMB increased the bandwidth to its servers from 100Mbps to 200Mbps and secondly, it increased the number of central processing units used in its servers from 10 to 15. For a longer-term solution, KTMB is embarking on a drive to embrace full digitisation of its infrastructure and services with substantial progress to be seen by the third quarter of next year. “We already have a consultant studying our system so that it could be revamped. “We expect to use ticketing systems that are on par with those used in aviation ticketing, as far as stability and reliability are concerned,” he said, adding that KTMB’s servers recorded nearly 400,000 users when sales opened, causing severe congestion. Despite the chaos, KTMB still managed to sell up to 57,000 tickets by 10pm on Monday, with popular destinations being mostly north-bound, to places like Butterworth and Padang Besar. A survey by The Star at KL Sentral yesterday found that a sense of calm had returned to the ticketing counters, with customers queuing calmly and orderly. In Putrajaya, Transport Minister Anthony Loke expressed regret over Monday’s incident and said a substantial revamp of the ticketing system, which has weaknesses, was required. “To this end, the ministry has directed KTMB to take remedial measures,” he said after attending a conference on bus rapid transit organised by Volvo Buses, Technology Depository Agency and Prasarana Malaysia Bhd. ~The Star~
Common signs 常见标语 BUKA Open 开 TUTUP Closed 关 MASUK Entrance 入口 KELUAR Exit 出口 TOLAK Push推 TARIK Pull 拉 TANDAS Toilet 厕所 LELAKI Men 男 WANITA / PEREMPUAN Women 女 DILARANG MASUK No Entry 不能进入 DILARANG MEROKOK No Smoking 不能抽烟 JALAN SEHALA One way traffic 单行道
KTM Komuter to use new schedule starting Nov 16
The KTM Komuter service will operate using a new time schedule effective Nov 16 following the Klang Valley Double Track (KVDT) Phase 1 and Phase 2 upgrading project.
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB), in a statement today, said the new schedule would involve 20 commuter train services for the Batu Caves-Pulau Sebang route and 14 Tanjung Malim-Port Klang-Tanjung Malim commuter train services.
"Both Phase 1 and Phase 2 are to upgrade the 25 years old railway tracks and carry out maintenance works and improve the electrical and communications system at the stations involved.
"The rehabilitation works of the railway tracks linking the Klang Valley sector are also being done to reduce delays and avoid cancellation of services," it said. The KVDT1 project involving the Rawang-Salak Selatan and Simpang Batu-Sentul sectors is expected to be completed in July next year.
The KVDT2 project which involves the rehabilitation of railway tracks stretching from Salak Selatan to Seremban, and from Kuala Lumpur Sentral to Port Klang is scheduled for completion in September 2026.
Meanwhile, KTMB said following the new schedule, the commuter trains services for the Batu Caves-Pulau Sebang route would start and end at the Kajang Station. For the Tanjung Malim-Port Klang-Tanjung Malim route which will start and end at the Sungai Buloh Station, the commuter service will operate using a single track between Rawang and Kepong.
-- BERNAMA
Seamless transfers now possible at Pasar Seni
Walking between the Pasar Seni LRT/MRT stations and KTM's Kuala Lumpur station (as well as to the National Mosque) is now more straightforward with the new bridge across Klang River.
KUALA LUMPUR: Regular LRT, MRT and KTM Komuter users who need to make transfers at KL Sentral can do so seamlessly now at Pasar Seni.
A new 102m-long pedestrian bridge linking the Pasar Seni LRT station with the KTM Kuala Lumpur station opened on Friday after more than two years of construction.
The fully covered bridge is equipped with a bi-directional travelator which spans 50m.
This link also enables users to reach Masjid Negara and its vicinity such as Taman Tugu easily as it shortens the walking distance.
Work had commenced in April 2016 as part of requirements for the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) MRT line.
The Pasar Seni MRT station is already seamlessly integrated with the Pasar Seni LRT station.
However, crossing the Klang River to get to the KTM Kuala Lumpur station still proved to be arduous with users having to walk a long route via Menara Dayabumi.
Built by Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) under the SBK line scope of works, the work was undertaken by MRT project delivery partner, MMC-Gamuda KVMRT (PDP) Sdn Bhd, with Trans Resources Corp Sdn Bhd as the main contractor for the bridge.
The scope of work included improvements to the Pasar Seni LRT station concourse, as well as the entrance to Menara Dayabumi nearby.
MRT Corp CEO Abdul Yazid Kassim hoped that the new bridge would encourage more to use public transport.
“Seamless connectivity is an important element in public transportation, and without it, people will lose interest in using the service, ” he said.
“The bridge is also designed in such a way that it will enable ticketing integration between the MRT/LRT systems with the Komuter system in future. “We hope that this last mile barrier in terms of fare integration will be solved one day, ” he said.
The ownership, operation and maintenance of the bridge will fall under Prasarana Malaysia Bhd.
~The Star~
KLIA systems still down, passengers advised to arrive four hours before flight
Passengers departing from the KL International Airport (KLIA) are advised to reach the airport four hours before their flight departure time as systems disruption has yet to be resolved.
According to Malaysia Airports, the team is still in the midst of stabilising the system as of 6am Friday (Aug 23).
It urged passengers to arrive at the airport early and check-in via their respective airlines' mobile app or website.
In a statement, Malaysia Airports said they have utilised all 38 remote bays at KLIA Main Terminal to cater to aircraft that are not able to proceed to the scheduled gates as they are still being occupied.
"Following this, we have also provided four additional buses, as well as ground handling services for the airlines in order to facilitate passenger movements to ferry passengers to the remote bays from the terminal and vice versa," it said.
It added that it has extended operating hours at all its other airports nationwide to cater to delayed flights from Kuala Lumpur, and have provided free parking for all passengers at KLIA Main Terminal.
In an unforeseen first-ever disruption of its airport management system, the operations of KLIA came to a halt for hours, with scores of flights delayed and passengers left stranded and frustrated.
The interruption, which hit on Wednesday (Aug 21) night, continued the following day.
As at 10.30am Thursday (Aug 22), there were 20 flights delayed at KLIA main terminal.
The flights were scheduled to take off for destinations in Japan, Australia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Britain and Dubai as well as domestically, Penang, and Kuching and Sibu in Sarawak.
~The Star~
KLIA systems disruption: 20 flights delayed
PETALING JAYA: As at 10.30am Thursday (Aug 22), 20 flights departing KL International Airport (KLIA) have been delayed, says Malaysian Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB).
MAHB said its technical team is in the midst of stabilising critical passenger-facing systems at the airport.
It added that it had briefed relevant stakeholders such as the Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia (CAAM), representatives of airlines operating in KLIA, and the Airline Operators Committee (AOC) chairman on the latest updates and mitigation plans.
“We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to passengers due to this disruption.
"Please be assured that we are sparing no effort to provide assistance to passengers and airlines, ” MAHB said in a statement Thursday, adding that 500 staff had been deployed to assist passengers on the ground.
It also said that all critical passenger-facing systems at KLIA including the Flight Information Display System (FIDS) are fully functional. MAHB had earlier said that several airport systems were affected by the disruption, including WiFi connections, the FIDS, and the Check-In-Counters and Baggage Handling Systems (BHS). It said that passengers could get more information from MAHB's social media feeds and advised them to reach the airport at least four hours before their flight departure time.
MAHB also encouraged passengers to check-in via the respective airlines’ mobile apps or websites.
It also urged passengers to reach out to their Airport CARE Ambassadors or contact 03-8776 2000 for further information on flight details. ~The Star~
Tourism Malaysia ties up with Expedia PUTRAJAYA: Tourism Malaysia has inked a deal with American travel company Expedia Group which will see both sides collaborate to boost tourism promotion to Malaysia. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said the partnership with Expedia will help support Malaysia’s target of achieving 30 million tourist arrivals and RM100bil tourist spending by 2020. “Malaysia has just launched its fifth instalment of the Visit Malaysia series, Visit Malaysia 2020, and this is a timely strategic partnership which will benefit all parties. “Expedia Group, as many of you would know, has over 200 travel booking websites in more than 70 countries around the world and work with thousands of lodging and flight partners to cater to the differing needs of modern travellers today. “This partnership will collectively promote travel to Malaysia hence helping us grow our tourism arrival and income, empower our hospitality industry to be equipped with the right tools and services to help them grow their business locally, and be seen as a beacon in the sustainable tourism space, ” said Mohamaddin in his speech at the signing ceremony of the new collaboration, held at his ministry yesterday. Mohamaddin said one of the agreements between Tourism Malaysia and Expedia Group will be focused on several global campaigns to promote inbound travel from the United States, Australia and Japan to Malaysia. The three countries are among the biggest points of sale for Expedia Group. “This partnership will see a joint execution of destination marketing campaigns to spotlight Malaysia’s hidden and unique tourist attractions as well as promote the variety of accommodation to Expedia Group’s 750 million plus monthly visitors globally, ” said Mohamaddin. The collaboration will also see Expedia Group and Tourism Malaysia exchanging traveller insights, to help better understand tourist behaviours and home tourism strategies in line with the implementation of Visit Malaysia. Expedia Group senior vice-president of commercial strategy and services Greg Schulze said the company found Malaysia to be a “progressively thinking destination” and was committed to help expose the country to travellers around the world. “Tourism is an important contributor to Malaysia’s economy, accounting for almost 14.9% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and 3.4 million jobs. “As a world travel platform, Expedia Group is proud to be an online travel tourism partner to Tourism Malaysia, connecting Malaysia’s tourism industry to millions of travellers in our worldwide network, ” he said. Among the travel websites under Expedia Group include Expedia.com, Trivago and Hotels.com. ~The Star~
Airasia launches new route Kuala Lumpur-Belitung
AirAsia has launched a new route connecting Kuala Lumpur to Belitung in Sumatra, Indonesia with four times weekly direct service commencing from Oct 2, 2019.
To celebrate this new route, AirAsia is offering special all-in members fare from as low as RM79 (all-in-fares are for AirAsia BIG member only) from Kuala Lumpur.
It could be booked on airasia.com or the AirAsia mobile app from today until Aug 25, 2019, for travel between Oct 2, 2019, and March 28, 2020, the airline said in a statement today.
“BIG members will enjoy zero processing fees when making payment using BigPay,” it said.
AirAsia regional commercial head Amanda Woo said the new route is also a testament to the airline's commitment to support the Indonesian government in its efforts to develop 10 new priority tourism destinations.
“Indonesia has more to offer than just Bali and Lombok. Belitung is a beautiful, amazing place with huge untapped tourism potential, and we hope that with this new direct service, more and more people will be able to discover this hidden gem,” she said. In addition to the new route, AirAsia also operates daily flights to Belitung from the Indonesian capital Jakarta beginning Oct 1, 2019.
AirAsia currently connects Kuala Lumpur to 14 other Indonesian destinations - Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Bali, Lombok, Yogyakarta, Pekanbaru, Pontianak, Padang, Palembang, Semarang, Makassar, Bandung and Banda Aceh.
-- BERNAMA
