Holidaying on the cheap in KL, region
P StekPublished: Jan 12, 2009 2:05 PM | Updated: Jan 12, 2009 2:15 PM
Cheap flights and good connectivity are among the main reasons to visit Kuala Lumpur, said several tourists who are on a stopover while on holiday in the region.
Cheap flights and good connectivity are the main reasons why tourists come to Kuala Lumpur. It reinforces belief that the new low-cost carrier airport in Labu will make good business sense.
Cheap flights and good connectivity are among the main reasons to visit Kuala Lumpur, said several tourists who are on a stopover while on holiday in the region.
Malaysiakini talked to visitors to find out what has drawn them to Malaysia, given the government’s approval of a new low-cost carrier airport in Labu, Negri Sembilan.
For some, the benefits of connectivity were too good to pass up.
“We’ve just come back from Borneo and are staying here for one night,” said Kelly Harrington from Australia, who was visiting the Petronas Twin Towers with friend Hugh McDonald.
McDonald added however: “One day is enough. We wouldn’t make Kuala Lumpur a destination of our holiday.”
Lynn Gallagher and Gavin Catling from London, who are on their way to Sydney, said their stopover was “just to have a look”.
“But now that we’ve been to Malaysia, we want to definitely come back here,” explained Gallagher.
Catling, who said he enjoyed visiting Petaling Street and finds Malaysians to be “very friendly”, observed: “Malaysia has more character than Singapore. It’s a bit like Hong Kong.”
Jordanian Jihad Tadros and his family were also out shopping in Petaling Street. They decided to visit the city on the advice of friends.
“This is the first Asian city we have visited. We usually visit Europe. Kuala Lumpur is a nice stopover for a few days. Four to five days are enough,” said Jihad.
Other tourists had an eye on low fares when planning their holidays.
“We were looking for a quick break and the pricing of airline tickets was critical to our decision to come to Kuala Lumpur,” said Pam Down from Perth, who was with husband Geoff and their two sons.
The family had also considered visiting Singapore.
“But we could also go to Borneo from Kuala Lumpur or to other parts of Malaysia,” explained Geoff, although the family will spend this holiday only in Kuala Lumpur.
Budget fares brought sisters Esther, Susanna and Heidi Je out from Brisbane, to visit a friend who lives in Kuala Lumpur.
“The shopping is really good, too” added Susanna.
Mohd Zulhimi of Sleangor, who was showing a friend from Sarawak around the Petronas Twin Towers, said the country has much more to offer visitors than just affordable fares and facilities.
“Kuala Lumpur has many different places to visit especially Petaling Street and the National Museum which are really unique,” he said.
“Malaysia is a place with different kinds of races living together. People from around the world want to see that. This is a place without war. There is peace here.”
‘A budget hub’
Despite the global economic downturn, tourism arrivals in Malaysia have increased while the numbers in Singapore and Thailand have declined. Thailand faced political instability last November, which saw the closure of Bangkok’s airport for more than a week.
Budget carrier AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes believes that his company is partly responsible for the growth in tourism in Malaysia.
The airline’s intention to develop the KLIA East project has its critics including former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has said that separate airports in Subang, Sepang and now Labu are weakening Kuala Lumpur as an international airline hub.
Fernandes countered this, explaining that “KLIA is not the hub, Kuala Lumpur is the hub”, and pointing out that two kinds of hubs exist.
One is created by the airlines themselves at an airport, bringing in passengers through connecting routes and frequent flights. Malaysia Airlines has such a hub at KLIA and Air Asia at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal.
The other kind of hub is a major city like New York or London with multiple airports. Fernandes pointed out that London has five airports that specialise in different market segments, such as short-haul business travellers, full service airlines, charter airlines and low-cost carriers.
By dedicating different airports to different markets, all customers are better served, while the city hub becomes more competitive as a whole.
AirAsia projects that it will transport 27 million passengers to Kuala Lumpur by 2014, up from 7 million in 2007. This would make it a bigger carrier than Malaysia Airlines.
Singapore has a much smaller budget airline sector than Malaysia. The current capacity of Singapore’s budget terminal is 2.7 million compared to 10 million passengers in Malaysia.
AirAsia is also targeting students and health tourists as potential passengers, as they are price-sensitive and likely to choose a low-cost airline for frequent travel.
Malaysiakini talked to visitors to find out what has drawn them to Malaysia, given the government’s approval of a new low-cost carrier airport in Labu, Negri Sembilan.
For some, the benefits of connectivity were too good to pass up.
“We’ve just come back from Borneo and are staying here for one night,” said Kelly Harrington from Australia, who was visiting the Petronas Twin Towers with friend Hugh McDonald. McDonald added however: “One day is enough. We wouldn’t make Kuala Lumpur a destination of our holiday.”
Lynn Gallagher and Gavin Catling from London, who are on their way to Sydney, said their stopover was “just to have a look”.
“But now that we’ve been to Malaysia, we want to definitely come back here,” explained Gallagher.
Catling, who said he enjoyed visiting Petaling Street and finds Malaysians to be “very friendly”, observed: “Malaysia has more character than Singapore. It’s a bit like Hong Kong.”
Jordanian Jihad Tadros and his family were also out shopping in Petaling Street. They decided to visit the city on the advice of friends. “This is the first Asian city we have visited. We usually visit Europe. Kuala Lumpur is a nice stopover for a few days. Four to five days are enough,” said Jihad.
Other tourists had an eye on low fares when planning their holidays.
“We were looking for a quick break and the pricing of airline tickets was critical to our decision to come to Kuala Lumpur,” said Pam Down from Perth, who was with husband Geoff and their two sons.
The family had also considered visiting Singapore.
“But we could also go to Borneo from Kuala Lumpur or to other parts of Malaysia,” explained Geoff, although the family will spend this holiday only in Kuala Lumpur.
Budget fares brought sisters Esther, Susanna and Heidi Je out from Brisbane, to visit a friend who lives in Kuala Lumpur.
“The shopping is really good, too” added Susanna.
Mohd Zulhimi of Sleangor, who was showing a friend from Sarawak around the Petronas Twin Towers, said the country has much more to offer visitors than just affordable fares and facilities.“Kuala Lumpur has many different places to visit especially Petaling Street and the National Museum which are really unique,” he said.
“Malaysia is a place with different kinds of races living together. People from around the world want to see that. This is a place without war. There is peace here.”
‘A budget hub’
Despite the global economic downturn, tourism arrivals in Malaysia have increased while the numbers in Singapore and Thailand have declined. Thailand faced political instability last November, which saw the closure of Bangkok’s airport for more than a week.
Budget carrier AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes believes that his company is partly responsible for the growth in tourism in Malaysia. The airline’s intention to develop the KLIA East project has its critics including former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has said that separate airports in Subang, Sepang and now Labu are weakening Kuala Lumpur as an international airline hub.
Fernandes countered this, explaining that “KLIA is not the hub, Kuala Lumpur is the hub”, and pointing out that two kinds of hubs exist.
One is created by the airlines themselves at an airport, bringing in passengers through connecting routes and frequent flights. Malaysia Airlines has such a hub at KLIA and Air Asia at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal.
The other kind of hub is a major city like New York or London with multiple airports. Fernandes pointed out that London has five airports that specialise in different market segments, such as short-haul business travellers, full service airlines, charter airlines and low-cost carriers.
By dedicating different airports to different markets, all customers are better served, while the city hub becomes more competitive as a whole.
AirAsia projects that it will transport 27 million passengers to Kuala Lumpur by 2014, up from 7 million in 2007. This would make it a bigger carrier than Malaysia Airlines. Singapore has a much smaller budget airline sector than Malaysia. The current capacity of Singapore’s budget terminal is 2.7 million compared to 10 million passengers in Malaysia.
AirAsia is also targeting students and health tourists as potential passengers, as they are price-sensitive and likely to choose a low-cost airline for frequent travel.
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