KUCHING: Royal Brunei airlines (RBA) is making a come-back with twice daily flight, connecting Sarawak to the world.
State Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said connectivity has been the biggest hurdle in ministry’s effort to drive the tourism industry forward.
He said ministry is giving top priority to addressing the connectivity issue with more aggressive efforts such as bringing in airlines and charters into the state.
“In this respect, the resumption of the flight by Royal Brunei will hopefully be the main driver.
“By February next year the flight frequency will be increased to four times weekly and then daily flight before the year ends.
“This calls for the cooperation of all tourism stakeholders, including travel agents, hoteliers, product owners, each representing an integral component of the tourism value chain,” said Karim in his speech at the Royal Brunei’s Bandar Seri Begawan-Kuching Flight launching ceremony held at a local hotel on Saturday.
He added without the stakeholders, tourism will not thrive, which essentially means less visitors and tourists thus less viability of business for any airline to operate.
Karim noted that while Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) focuses on inbound travel, the outbound travel agencies will balance the flow of locals going out of the state, which should give sustainability to the airlines business.
“It is our greatest ambition to ensure that the tourism sector and its supporting services will be one of the strongest and major contributors to the state gross national product (GNP) in the years to come.
“With this direct flight, we also look forward to strengthening our Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) segment particularly in the Brunei market.
“Tracing of our original roots, clan gathering, fostering of relationship will be the drivers of this package, which I firmly believe is very much alive, considering the generation-long family link and ties that we have with our neighbours Brunei.”
Earlier on, RBA chief commercial officer Martin Aeberli said the Bandar Seri Begawan-Kching connectivity marked a historical moment for both sides.
He said Kuching was one of RB’s first destinations way back in 1975.
“We are extremely delighted to reconnect the beautiful city of Kuching to the rest of our network and provide the missing link to Brunei once again,” said Martin.
Martin also said that the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) it signed with STB last month would help to maximise tourism opportunities for both Brunei and Sarawak.
He said they are aiming to stimulate visitors inflow between Brunei and Kuching and provide a vital link to connect to a wider region in the island of Borneo via RB’s network,” he remarked.
Flights from Brunei to Kuching, will be serviced by RB’s A320 airplane, with two weekly flights. Frequency will be increased to four weekly flights from Feb 3 2019.
For passengers, with just one hour 15 minutes’ flight duration, it means a quick transfer between the two destinations and more time to enjoy the many sights and attractions on offer.
For more information, visit www.flyroyalbrunei.com.
Also present was STB chief executive officer Sharzede Datuk Salleh Askor.
