Direct flight between Vientiane and Kuala Lumpur will be open soon ! - Samakomlao Main

Members Login

Post Info

TOPIC: Direct flight between Vientiane and Kuala Lumpur will be open soon !

samakomlao

Guru

Status: Offline

Posts: 1451

Date: Apr 30, 2007

Direct flight between Vientiane and Kuala Lumpur will be open soon !	Permalink

From Linda Khoo Hui Lee VIENTIANE, April 29 (Bernama) -- The Tourism Ministry wants either Malaysia Airlines (MAS) or budget carrier, AirAsia, to operate Kuala Lumpur-Vientiane direct flights to woo more Laotian tourists to Malaysia. In the absence of direct flights to Kuala Lumpur, Laotian tourists had to transit either in Bangkok, Phnom Penh or Hanoi, which was time-consuming and costly for them, Deputy Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai said today. "This inconvenience has led to many Laotians to skip Malaysia from their tourism destinations," he said. "Laos is the only Asean country without direct flight links from Kuala Lumpur. This has hampered Laotian tourist arrivals to Malaysia, more so this year being Visit Malaysia Year (VMY)," he told Malaysian journalists covering his two-day visit to Laos to promote VMY 2007. Lim said the ministry would discuss with the Transport Ministry to order MAS or AirAsia to start KL-Vientiane and Vientiane-KL flights in the next six months. Direct flights to Vientiane could double Laotian tourist arrivals to Malaysia this year as compared to 4,371 last year, he said. "Direct flights will be a boon to the tourism industry of the two countries. It can also help expand long-haul trips within the Asean region," he said. Records showed 6,800 Malaysians visited Laos last year, up 200 compared with the previous year, he said. Last year, a total of 4,371 Laotian tourists came to Malaysia, an increase of 124.8 per cent from 1,944 in 2005, he said. Between January and February, 1,001 Laotians came to Malaysia, compared to 642 in the same period last year, said Lim, who met Laos National Tourism Administration vice-chairman Dr Sila Mounthalavong and tour and travel agency operators yesterday. -- BERNAMA __________________ Make yourself visible, signup at samakomlao webboard. HERE

Page 1 of 1 sorted by

Tweet this page

Post to Digg

Post to Del.icio.us

Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse