KOTA KINABALU: Taiwanese tourist arrivals to Sabah are expected to rise significantly with Malindo Air's four times weekly flight connecting this city and Taipei effective Jan 25.
The Malaysia-Indonesia joint venture airline based in Petaling Jaya is offering introductory fares at RM299 one-way for economy class and RM999 one-way for business class.
This will be the airline's first international flight flying from Kota Kinabalu.
Malindo Air's chief executive officer Chandran Rama Muthy said they are working closely with Sabah Tourism Board and Taiwan Tourism Bureau in promoting the new connectivity in both countries.
"With this new sector, we can expect an increase of 15,000 Taiwanese tourists to Kota Kinabalu by January next year, meaning from 45,000 currently to 60,000 arrivals," he said in a press conference here.
Taiwan is currently the top four market source for Sabah in tourism in the past six years, together with China, South Korea and Brunei.
According to statistics, there have been a double digit growth in Taiwanese visitors to Sabah by 26 per cent, registering 45,367 visitors for the first ten months last year compared to 36,011 for the same period in 2015.
Meanwhile, Chandran said they are expecting 10 additional Boeing 737NGs to expand their fleet of 42 aircrafts (16 ATR72-600s and 26 Boeing 737NGs) currently.
Malindo Air took the skies in March 2013 and today it operates over 800 flights weekly covering 41 routes in the region.