Malaysia’s Batik Air recently opens a new direct route connecting Kuala Lumpur and Indonesia’s Batam. (Photo: Bernama)Director General of the Malaysian Tourism Ammar Abd Ghapar said Indonesia holds aspecial place as a key tourism market for Malaysia based on the shared culturalties and connectivity among both countries.
The connection is expected to further bolster tourist arrivals as Malaysia isgearing up for the Visit Malaysia 2026 event and contribute to the economicprosperity of both nations, he said.
Operating three times weekly with Boeing 737 aircraft, this new routeunderscores Batik Air’s commitment to expanding its network growth in SoutheastAsia while catering to the increased demand for intra-regional travel, headded.
Meanwhile, Batik Air chief executive officer Datuk Chandran Rama Muthysaid the introduction of direct flights from Batam to Kuala Lumpur is astrategic move to expand the airline’s presence in key markets.
This new route will enable passengers from Batam to connect to BatikAir’s ever-growing flight network to 53 destinations across 22 countriesthrough Kuala Lumpur International Airport, he said.
According to the Tourism Malaysia, Indonesia ranked second in the top tentourist-generating markets in ASEAN, contributing 2.8 million arrivals toMalaysia between January and November 2023.
The new route is expected to further stimulate tourism between the twonations, aligning with Malaysia’s target of welcoming 27.3 million tourists in2024 and generating revenue of 102.7 billion RM (21.47 billion USD), it said./.
VNA
