KOTA KINABALU: A memorandum of understanding was signed to promote direct charter flights between Sabah and the Namangan region of Uzbekistan.
Local travel agency Funholiday's managing director Connie Chong signed the agreement with Namangan Tourism and Cultural Department head Botir Nuritdinov.
The purpose of the agreement was a proposal to launch direct charter flights between Sabah and Namangan during the winter months of December to February.
"During the winter, the temperatures in Uzbekistan can drop below zero Celsius, so the Uzbeks want to travel out from their country," said Chong, who recently went on a 10-day familiarisation tour following the launch of the inaugural chartered flights from Tashkent to Kuala Lumpur starting this month.
The entourage from Malaysia consisted of four travel agencies and a hotel operator.
Currently, Uzbeks see Langkawi as their preferred destination in Malaysia.
"But at the same time, the Uzbeks are also looking for a new destination to spend their holidays, and Sabah's equatorial climate with tropical rainforests has been an attraction to them," said Chong.
Among the highlights of the familiarisation trip were the visit to Tashkent, Bukhara, Khiva and Samarkand, which were once the crossroads of world culture as they were important sites of the ancient Silk routes, she said.
"We have also engaged business sessions to promote Sabah and Malaysia in general with 30 business tourism representatives from around the Uzbekistan region," she said.
Last month, Uzbekistan ambassador to Malaysia Ravshan Usmanov expressed interest in working with Sabah tourism players to stimulate the interest of Uzbek citizens to the state.
He had said Sabah was blessed with a unique landscape and had abundant fresh seafood that was attractive to Uzbeks.
Usmanov had also said as Uzbekistan is a landlocked country, their people love the sea.