Malaysia wants CEB flights to KL resumed

CEBU, Philippines - A Malaysian tourism official expressed hope that the Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific (CEB) will resume its direct flights between Cebu and Kuala Lumpur to cater to travelers from Cebu and other neighboring provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao areas.

It was last December 8, 2012 when the Philippines' largest national flag carrier launched its direct twice-weekly services to Kuala Lumpur.

CEB began operating flights for a Tuesday and Saturday service from Cebu to Kuala Lumpur and vice versa.

On that inaugural day, the maiden flight left Cebu at 4:45 PM and arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 8:10 PM. The return flight departed Cebu at 8:55 PM and arrived at 12:20 AM the next day.

However, Tourism Malaysia - Manila office director Fazdila Mansor cited that the direct flight service was suspended on the second quarter of this year. They believed that this was due to passenger load issues.

CEB vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog, in a statement, however clarified that the budget carrier has suspended its Cebu-Kuala Lumpur flight until further notice due to high cost of fuel.

"CEB continues to call affected guests so they can be re-accommodated on flights to Kuala Lumpur via Manila. CEB also offers full refund of travel fund," Iyog said, adding that the company could be contacted for assistance should the travelers need further inquiries.

Mansor said that although the flight suspension did not affect the tourist influx in Malaysia, the country still remains hopeful that the airline company will restart its direct flight operations from Cebu to Kuala Lumpur and vice versa to capitalize on more Filipino and Cebuano tourists.

For now, she said that Malaysia banks on CEB's alternative flights such as the routes from Cebu-Singapore-Malaysia and Cebu-Manila-Malaysia.

Earlier, Mansor said that they are aiming to promote Malaysia as the preferred destination for the Philippine market, attracting more Filipino tourists to come and visit the country.

Tourism Malaysia, also known as the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia.

Last year, Malaysia registered 25 million tourist arrivals and Malaysian Ringgit 60.6 billion in tourist receipts, placing the country as the tenth most popular tourism destination in the world.

In 2012, the country recorded a total of 508,744 Filipinos who visited Malaysia.  Also, arrivals from the Philippines for the first half of 2013 were recorded at 277,378,  an increase of 16.5 percent compared to the same period in 2012.

Mansor remained bullish that they would reach the country's target of attracting 520,000 Filipino tourists to Malaysia this year.

The country shall celebrate its fourth Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) next year with the theme "Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia".

It is expected to contribute to the government's target to receive 36 million tourist arrivals and Malaysian Ringgit 168 billion in receipts by 2020 as outlined in the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan 2020.

To boost awareness of the VMY 2014, Tourism Malaysia organized a business session and gala night among Philippine trade members and Malaysian delegates in Cebu at Marco Polo Plaza Hotel last October 11.

Last week, the same business session was also held in Solaire Resort Manila last October 3. Tourism Malaysia also conducted four consumer road shows in Manila, Iloilo and Bacolod last week. /JMD (FREEMAN)