17-3-2024 (KUALA LUMPUR) China Eastern Airlines celebrated the launch of its inaugural flight from Kunming to Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. The flight, MU9629, arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where passengers were greeted by Manoharan Periasamy, the director-general of Tourism Malaysia, an agency under the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
The introduction of this new route presents a tremendous opportunity to attract more tourists from China’s second-tier cities. This is especially significant considering Malaysia’s visa-free policy for Chinese travelers, which has been instrumental in driving the surge in bookings to the country. Tourism Malaysia, through its overseas offices in China, is actively promoting Malaysia’s rich heritage and warm hospitality to tap into one of its key markets.
“With this new additional route, it is a great opportunity to bring in more tourists from China’s second-tier cities, especially now with our visa-free policy for Chinese travelers to Malaysia. We continue to amplify our promotional efforts in showcasing Malaysia’s rich heritage and warm hospitality to one of our top markets through Tourism Malaysia’s overseas offices in China,” stated the agency in a press release.
The visa-free policy for Chinese travelers to Malaysia, implemented last December, has yielded remarkable results. In 2023, Malaysia witnessed an exponential growth of 593.4 percent in visitor arrivals from China, with a total of 1.47 million arrivals, compared to the previous year.
China Eastern Airlines will operate the Kunming-Kuala Lumpur route on a daily basis, accommodating up to 156 passengers per flight.
