By — Ramani Parkunan
SEPANG – Batik Air’s inaugural flight arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, Istanbul, personally received a warm welcome from Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Dato Sri Tiong King Sing. Also present are representatives from Batik Air and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).
A water salute by MAHB greeted the aircraft as a warm welcome for the passengers boarding Flight OD724.
The new four-times-weekly direct flight operates with Airbus A330-300 at a seating capacity of 377, departing every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
This marks a significant milestone in increasing tourist traffic between the two destinations while further boosting connectivity from other international continents via Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW) in Istanbul, Turkiye.
From January to November 2023, Malaysia welcomed 15,623 arrivals from Turkiye, a positive growth of 10.8% in comparison to the same period in 2019 with 14,096 arrivals.
Officially surpassing its pre-pandemic benchmark, Tourism Malaysia is determined to foster more smart partnerships and collaborations with international airlines to create more travel demand from Turkiye.
About Tourism Malaysia
Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, also known as 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.
The next Visit Malaysia Year, set to take place in 2026, will commemorate the sustainability of the nation’s tourism industry, which is also in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).
Furthermore, Tourism Malaysia actively endorses the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT- GT), working towards the realisation of the IMT-GT Visiting Year 2023-2025, to promote the region as a unified tourism destination.
For more information, visit Tourism Malaysia’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.
