SEPANG – Tourist arrivals from China are currently one-third of what they were pre-pandemic, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
“(In terms of) passenger movement, we are between 70% and 80% of pre-Covid-19 levels; our Asian markets have recovered with the exception of China.
“That market is still challenging due to the slower opening of the Chinese market, and in terms of the arrivals of Chinese tourists, we have yet to see the levels go back to before 2019.
“Before 2019, we saw three million Chinese tourists arrive in Malaysia, but right now we are probably in the region of just over one million, which is only one-third of what we saw before Covid-19.
“That is probably why, in terms of international movements, we have not seen the growth compared to other regions in Asia Pacific for Malaysia. The major factor is the Chinese market,” he said during the Centre for Aviation (CAPA) Think Tank: A Meeting of the Mind session held in conjunction with the CAPA Asia Aviation Summit & Sustainability Awards 2023, here, today.
In terms of operational challenges faced by airline operators, Loke said that everyone is trying their best to get back to work so operations can return to normalcy.
“We’ve been upfront about it, of course, worker strikes are not something normal in our society.
“Everyone is trying their best to get back to work, be it airlines or airports. We are trying our best to overcome it.
“At Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), we have two major projects ongoing.
“One is the aerotrain. Of course, there are some issues right now, but we are overcoming them by shuttling passengers from the satellite building to the main terminal by using transit buses.
“Second, of course, is the luggage system; we are upgrading this particular system, so all of this will be in place within the next two to three years. So, hopefully, once we complete those projects, the entire airport ecosystem will be much better,” he added.
Loke also appealed to both airline and airport operators in Malaysia to continuously look for ways to expand beyond the traditional markets in order to stay agile and competitive.
“I hope that industry players will actively look for new markets between Malaysia and other regions besides China, (South) Korea, and Turkiye.
“I’m sure airlines are trying to look for many destinations that are opening up in other countries at the moment,” he said. – November 2, 2023