There were over 120 booths at the MITM Travel Fair at a mall in Johor Baru. — Photos: THOMAS YONG/The Star
THERE is rising demand for direct flights between Johor and Taiwan.
Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) Johor chapter chairman Edwin Tay said operators from both sides are working together to promote chartered flights between the two places.
“There is a need for more direct flights between Taiwan and Malaysia, including Johor.
“We hope the airlines could look into the possibility of providing them,” said Tay at the three-day Malaysia International Travel Mart (MITM Travel Fair) held at Sutera Mall in Skudai, Johor Baru.
He said there were about 120 booths offering travel packages during the fair where over 70,000 visitors were expected.
Law wants tour buses included in the diesel subsidy programme to keep costs down.
Also present during the event was Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) president Patrick Law, who said similar fairs were being conducted at locations across the country.
In an unrelated matter, Law also highlighted the plight of travel operators following the restructuring of the diesel subsidy.
Since the implementation of the targeted subsidy, he said the cost of a single trip had gone up as high as 50%, leading to an increase in the prices of tour packages.
“We had a meeting with the Finance Ministry and the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry during which we highlighted this issue.
Tay hopes airlines will provide more direct flights between Taiwan and Johor.
“We hope the government will consider our appeal to be included in the diesel subsidy programme.”
Law said the exclusion of tour buses in the subsidy programme would cause costs to soar.
“A single litre of diesel allows a bus to travel only about 4km.
“Now that the price of diesel has risen, the overall cost of tour fees will also go up.
“The increase in fees, which will be borne by the customer, may discourage people from taking tour packages,” he said.
