MIRI: A full-scale effort has been launched via cyberspace to salvage more than 18,000 tour bookings to Mulu that are in danger of being cancelled due to earlier uncertainties over flight bookings.
The Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) has gone all-out on the Internet, contacting overseas tour agents, telling them to convince tourists with confirmed bookings to the Mulu World Heritage Site to hold onto their bookings, after more than 200 cancellations were recorded over the past few days.
STB chief executive officer Gracie Geikie said the board became worried after finding out that the 200-plus foreign tourists had already cancelled their tour packages to Mulu.
“These cancellations included tourists from Italy. They cancelled their tours over the past few days while MAS and AirAsia were sorting out some of the earlier problems that had arisen from the handing over of the flight services by MAS to AirAsia.
“These cancellations were from tour groups that had to be issued confirmed tickets because they are travelling on tour packages starting early July.
“These 200-plus tourists had planned to visit Mulu and other parts of Borneo after going to several Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia and states in (peninsular) Malaysia. They had to cancel their Mulu trip because they cannot wait any longer for their tickets to be issued.
“However, we are very confident we can salvage the rest of the 18,000 other tour bookings to Mulu. AirAsia has announced that it will open booking for flights this Monday to the rural service destinations in Sarawak.
“We are trying to reach all the confirmed tourists and to urge them to wait until Monday so that our overseas agents can issue them confirmed tickets to Mulu,” Geikie said.
AirAsia has subcontracted the rural air service, to destinations like Mulu, to new airline Fly Asian Xpress (FAX). AirAsia will take over 99 non-trunk routes including the rural services from MAS beginning Aug 1.
FAX will open its bookings tomorrow, seven weeks ahead of schedule, after The Star highlighted the problem last week.
The long-haul tourists, from Europe and the Far East, have to plan their tour months ahead and make confirmed payments for air tickets, hotels and ground tour arrangements.
“After Monday, we will be able to tell how many of the 18,000-plus tourists to Mulu we can salvage. Hopefully, we can even get more bookings,” Geikie said.
The Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) has gone all-out on the Internet, contacting overseas tour agents, telling them to convince tourists with confirmed bookings to the Mulu World Heritage Site to hold onto their bookings, after more than 200 cancellations were recorded over the past few days.
STB chief executive officer Gracie Geikie said the board became worried after finding out that the 200-plus foreign tourists had already cancelled their tour packages to Mulu.
“These cancellations included tourists from Italy. They cancelled their tours over the past few days while MAS and AirAsia were sorting out some of the earlier problems that had arisen from the handing over of the flight services by MAS to AirAsia.
“These cancellations were from tour groups that had to be issued confirmed tickets because they are travelling on tour packages starting early July.
“These 200-plus tourists had planned to visit Mulu and other parts of Borneo after going to several Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia and states in (peninsular) Malaysia. They had to cancel their Mulu trip because they cannot wait any longer for their tickets to be issued.
“However, we are very confident we can salvage the rest of the 18,000 other tour bookings to Mulu. AirAsia has announced that it will open booking for flights this Monday to the rural service destinations in Sarawak.
“We are trying to reach all the confirmed tourists and to urge them to wait until Monday so that our overseas agents can issue them confirmed tickets to Mulu,” Geikie said.
AirAsia has subcontracted the rural air service, to destinations like Mulu, to new airline Fly Asian Xpress (FAX). AirAsia will take over 99 non-trunk routes including the rural services from MAS beginning Aug 1.
FAX will open its bookings tomorrow, seven weeks ahead of schedule, after The Star highlighted the problem last week.
The long-haul tourists, from Europe and the Far East, have to plan their tour months ahead and make confirmed payments for air tickets, hotels and ground tour arrangements.
“After Monday, we will be able to tell how many of the 18,000-plus tourists to Mulu we can salvage. Hopefully, we can even get more bookings,” Geikie said.
Source: The Star
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