Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Chartered MAS flights to bring in tourists to Miri


BY STEPHEN THEN

FOR the first time next month, Sarawak tourism authorities will bring in two groups of tourists from Beijing and Seoul to Miri by chartered Malaysia Airlines flights.

The South Koreans and Chinese will be flown in separately to visit Miri city, world heritage site Mulu National Park, the prehistoric Niah Caves and for golf and diving at a date to be finalised.

Sarawak Tourism Board chief executive officer Gracie Geikie said that golf and diving were included in the itinerary as part of a plan to promote culture, adventure and nature.

“Golf is becoming a very popular among South Koreans while more and more mainland Chinese are taking up diving as a hobby.

“We hope to attract them to Sarawak, especially the region surrounding Miri which has great golf and diving spots,” she said when interviewed recently.

Next month, MAS will bring in three groups of tourists by chartered flights from Shanghai.

Currently, only the state capital Kuching has direct international air links.

Geikie stressed it was important to establish direct international air links to Miri so that foreign travellers could have another direct gateway to Sarawak.

“Sarawak is big and it is vital to have more direct entry points so that we can offer a better choice of tour programmes and destinations,” she said.

Courtesy of The Star

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