HYDERABAD, INDIA – Malaysia Airports has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in a ceremony held at Courtyard Marriott Hotel this morning. The MOA was signed between Malaysia Airports, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited, with the intention of promoting and developing tourism from Telangana State and South Central region of India to Malaysia, as well as positioning Hyderabad as a gateway to this region for tourism.
Malaysia, known as one of the world’s favourite destinations, has a lot to offer in terms of tourist attractions and its rich wildlife, local cuisine, history and culture. Known for its pristine coastlines, the oldest tropical rainforests in the world and a shopping haven for the latest haute couture fashion items, Malaysia has something to offer to all types of traveller.
As the airport operator managing the country’s major gateways into the country, Malaysia Airports is keen for all the airports under its management to receive more foreign visitors. In the past two decades, growth at all its airports have either doubled or tripled. In 2016, KL International Airport handled 53 million passengers, a growth of 7.6% from the previous year. Other international airports such as Penang and Kota Kinabalu had also registered growth of 6.8% and 10.5% respectively. This significant growth was facilitated by various capacity enhancements, efficiency measures and consolidation of operations taken by Malaysia Airports.
India is the sixth largest tourism source market and the bilateral trade between India and Malaysia between 2014 to 2015 stood at USD16.93 billion. Therefore, with 213 weekly flights from four airlines operating to various cities in India from Kuala Lumpur, there has been a steady growth in passenger movements between Kuala Lumpur and India with an average of about 9% growth since 2015.