Tay says discussions have been ongoing and hopes the direct charter idea can be realised by October.
EFFORTS are underway to establish a new, direct chartered flight between Johor Baru and Taichung, a major city in Taiwan.
Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association’s (MCTA) Johor chapter chairman Edwin Tay said he would be leading a delegation to Taiwan soon to discuss the details with Taichung city government and relevant agencies.
“If this is realised, the direct chartered flight from Senai International Airport will benefit the state’s Visit Johor 2026 campaign.
“Discussions about the flight route have been ongoing for some time and we hope that it can be implemented this October,” he told StarMetro.
He added that he would submit a proposal to Tourism Johor as soon as possible to request support for the plan.
Tay said he had also brought up the matter with state unity, culture and heritage committee chairman K. Raven Kumar at the recent Malaysia International Travel Mart fair organised by MCTA.
Taiwan Tourism Administration’s Kuala Lumpur office director Abe Chou, who also attended the fair, said there was demand for the direct flight as some 460,000 tourists travelled from Malaysia to Taiwan last year.
“During the same period, some 380,000 tourists flew from Taiwan to Malaysia, which is about a 30% increase compared with the previous year,” he added.
Chou said that in view of this significant increase, he hoped that his office could collaborate with local travel agencies to make the Johor Baru-Taichung direct charter flight a reality.
When asked about the matter, Raven Kumar said the state government would consider the direct chartered flight plan after receiving a proposal from the association.
