New Zealanders urged to visit Malaysia.

Date: 15 January 2013

New Zealanders urged to visit Malaysia.

New Zealanders are being urged to visit Malaysia in greater numbers and for longer stays after Kiwi tourists visiting that country fell by about 19 per cent in 2012 from 2011. Part of the reason for the fall in Kiwi visitors was that Christchurch International Airport lost the valuable AirAsia X service from Kuala Lumpur. The service came to a halt at the end of May 2012 after running for about a year.

Over the weekend and yesterday Malaysian tourism officials and a visiting dance troupe from Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, were in Christchurch talking up the visitor experience for Kiwis. Mohammad Hafiz Hashim, a director of Tourism Malaysia's New Zealand office, said the troupe had performed at both the Re:Start mall on Sunday and also at the airport yesterday.

Tourism Malaysia was also due to host about 60 South Island travel agents at a meeting at the airport as part of its efforts to increase visitation and the length of stay by New Zealanders.

Sarawak as a destination included opportunities for trekking, and seeing and experiencing orangutan conservation projects, beaches and large cave systems.

In 2011 about 80,000 Kiwis visited Malaysia, helped by the AirAsia X flights, but last year numbers were down nearly 20 per cent for the year. Each visitor stayed an average of 9.5 days. "[So] it's our main objective. We want to increase the numbers of Kiwis or New Zealanders coming across . . . In particular we want to increase the number of nights. We want them to stay longer and spend more to contribute to our economy," Hashim said. The 20 strong group was also promoting Visit Malaysia Year 2014.

The Christchurch International Airport aeronautical development general manager Matthew Findlay said a daily service provided by Singapore Airlines to Singapore meant Kiwis could easily fly on to a Malaysian destination. "Tourism Malaysia are keen obviously to tap the South Island. We're working with Singapore Airlines to encourage more people to think about travelling to Malaysia."

By ALAN WOOD

Copyright @ 2012 Fairfax New Zealand Limited