Malaysia remains optimistic of Swedish tourist arrivals

2009/11/02

STOCKHOLM: Malaysia is confident that it will continue to receive a steady flow of tourists from Sweden although the Malaysia Airlines no longer operate direct flights between Stockholm and Kuala Lumpur.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen is also optimistic that the suspension of the Malaysia Airlines' Stockholm-Kuala Lumpur service would not pose a major impact for this sector.
She said that apart from ongoing promotional campaigns, the Tourism Malaysia office here was also embarking on new strategies to lure more Swedish tourists to Malaysia.
Speaking at a dinner hosted by Malaysian Ambassador to Sweden Datuk Kamarudin Mustafa, at his residence here on Sunday, Ng said the strategies would include special eco-tourism holiday packages with local tour operators here to give opportunities to Swedish travellers to escape the harsh winter.
She added that the ministry would also focus on promoting more aggressively the Malaysia My Second Home programme to Swedish.
Dr Ng is currently on a tourism trade mission to three Scandinavian capital cities including Helsinki and Copenhagen before attending the prestigious World Travel Mart in London on Nov 9.
Ng said that last year, a total of 48,646 Swedish tourists visited Malaysia compared to 44,746 in 2007.
Malaysia Airlines had been servicing the Swedish capital since November 2004 as a transit city before it flew to New York.
However, the sector was suspended last month due to low passenger load following the global economic downturn.
Meanwhile, Kamarudin urged Malaysia Airlines to resume the service of the Kuala Lumpur-Stockholm sector as this route offered great convenience and connectivity not only for tourists but also to the business community of the two countries.
"We hope that this is just a temporary suspension. A lot of people, especially Swedish told me that they were disappointed with the suspension," he added.

-- BERNAMA