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E v e r y N e w R o u t e , E v e r y W e e k
S u b s c r i b e t o o u r f r e e w e e k l y n e w s l e t t e r , v i s i t w w w . a n n a . a e r o
Routes
Produced in Kuching by:
On behalf of:
Role of airports
in increasing tourism
In The Terminal starring Tom Hanks, the comfort and beauty of JFK International Airport is not
enough to satisfy the Krakozhian traveller Viktor Navorski who needs to get into New York City
to fulfil his mission. Airports are ultimately only the gateway and not the destination – says
Tan Sri Bashir, Managing Director, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) in an interview
with anna.aero for the Routes Dailies magazine.
Airports
however do
play an
important
role in
bringing in
the crowd and are no
longer confined to
providing superior
infrastructure,
competitive rates and
extensive connections.
Airports have to market
the destination as well,
with the primary target
being the airline.
In a market where
destinations have to
compete for an airline’s
business, the way an
airport presents the
destination can be a
strong decider for the
airline. This is clearly
evident in the case of
Kuala Lumpur which
has had to grapple
with two very strong
competitors — Bangkok
and Singapore — both
of which are tourist
gateways and business
hubs.
Kuala Lumpur,
specifically KL
International Airport
(KLIA), has managed
to hold its own largely
due to the joint efforts
of the airport, tourism
authority and airlines.
Total passengers leapt
from 27.5 million in
2008 to 47.5 million
in 2013. In terms
of international
passengers, KLIA
ranked #12 in the
world with 23.8 million
recorded between
September 2012 and
September 2013, ahead
of Tokyo Narita, Madrid
and New York JFK.
The lesson learnt from
KLIA can be applied
to satellite airports
like Kuching, the
third largest airport
in Malaysia, with 4.9
million passengers
in 2013, and poised
for even greater
numbers in the future
as there is potential
for new domestic and
international routes.
The Kuala Lumpur–
Kuching sector is
the second busiest
route in Malaysia
(after Kuala Lumpur–
Kota Kinabalu) with
approximately 52,000
seats per week. The
number of international
flights into Kuching
has increased with
the arrival of Xpress
Air from Pontianak in
Indonesia (in addition
to Malaysia Airlines
services), and flights
from Singapore by
SilkAir, AirAsia,
Malaysia Airlines and
Singapore Airlines.
Kuching is never an
easy sell with the
international airlines
— this is probably
due to a lack of
knowledge about how
strategically-located it
is. For one, it is in the
centre of the Brunei
Darussalam-Indonesia-
Malaysia-Philippines
East ASEAN Growth
Area (BIMP-EAGA)
growth triangle. It is
also within a five-hour
flight of all the major
cities in Southern
China, Japan, Korea,
Hong Kong and South
East Asia — a market
size of more than a
billion people.
Just like how we had
to tell people there
actually was something
in between Thailand
and Singapore, we
have to do the same
with Kuching. To
attract airlines, we
provide incentives
to new or existing
carriers such as free
landing charges, office
rental and funding
for marketing and
promotional activities.
We know that these
small discounts go a
long way.
“Airports are ultimately
only the gateway and not
the destination,” states Tan Sri Bashir, Managing Director,
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. He also says Kuching
is poised for growth, being within a five-hour flight time of
over a billion people.
