Tourism boost with MASwings thrice weekly to Puerto Princessa
PUERTO PRINCESSA, Philippines: The tourism industry for both Sabah and the Philippines will be further boosted with the expansion of MASwings’ thrice weekly flight between the two destinations.
Foreseeing good demand on the two routes, MASwings chief executive officer Datuk Captain Mohd Nawawi Awang said the new direct service also symbolises the strong ties between Sabah and the Philippines.
“We expect good demand on the route, especially tourism. Nature lovers would appreciate the Puerto Princessa Subteeranean River National Park, one of the most distinguished protected areas in the Philippines that feature a spectacular limestone or karts mountain landscape.
“And people from here may visit other national parks in Malaysia such as the Kinabalu Park in Sabah and the Mulu Caves in Sarawak.
“Linking Kota Kinabalu with Puerto Princessa, gazetted as one of the Seven Wonders of the World’s Nature cities, will facilitate movement between these two beautiful resort cities,” said Nawawi when launching MASwings’ services yesterday.
He was among the passengers on the inaugural flight to the island, also known to be the cleanest and greenest city in the Philippines, via MH3992 which departed Kota Kinabalu International Airport at 11.25am and arrived here about one and-a-half hours later.
He said MASwings is proud to collaborate with both cities’ local tourism bodies and agencies to enhance tourism, especially in bringing in more tourists to Malaysia in general, and Sabah in particular, for the coming Visit Malaysia Year 2014.
Nawawi added that when MASwings started its operations six years ago, it flew about 700,000 passengers to its destinations, and in 2012, the number rose to 1.58 million. They are targeting least two million passengers next year.
“Even now, advance bookings for Puerto Princessa is about 10 to 20 per cent, and we believe it will continue to increase with the collaboration of the government here,” he said.
During a joint press conference here, Palawan Gabenor Jose Alvarez, assured visitors of their safety.
“Do not be worried … you are safe here,” he said, in welcoming more people to visit Palawan, dubbed as the most beautiful island in the world.
Proposing for more frequent flights between the two locations, he said the people and Philippines and Sabah have a lot in common.
“We have the same tone of skin, look the same,” he said, and spoke in fluent Bahasa Malaysia to express it – ‘Mirip, muka sama’, because, according to him, we come from the same stock.
Meanwhile, Puerto Princessa City Mayor Lucilo Cecil R Bayron hopes this second attempt to provide direct air connectivity is here to stay.
“There was a flight operated by the Layang-Layang Aerospace but it stopped just after a few months of operation. But we are confident that MASwings will ensure this time it will be a success.
“We depend on tourism as we cannot do anything, we cannot do mining or manufacturing. We are (otherwise) isolated from the country and the rest of the world,” said Bayron.
The inaugural flight send-off, with Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Kamarlin Ombi, heading the delegation which comprised travel trade agencies and media.
Source: Borneo Post
