SURABAYA – The consulate-general of Indonesia (KJRI) in Penang is now actively eyeing opportunities for direct flights from major cities in the republic to Malaysia, especially Penang, in an effort to strengthen tourist arrivals for both countries.
Economic Consul II for KJRI in Penang, Aryadi Ramadhan, said that after the two countries facilitated cross-country travel post-Covid-19, efforts to promote tourism locations on both sides have been intensified and the provision of aviation services needs to be further enhanced.
Currently, he said, discussions with stakeholders to add direct flights between locations in Indonesia and Penang are underway and will be finalised soon.
“Malaysia is the largest contributor to the Indonesian economy in the field of tourism where before Covid-19 hit, a total of 72,338 or 33% of the total number of tourists to East Java were from Malaysia in 2019.
“So, direct flight services from several attractive tourist locations in Indonesia to Malaysia and Penang in particular should be available to facilitate travel of the citizens of the two countries.
“However, we are still in discussions with several airlines to see which potential locations are suitable for the benefit of both Indonesia and Malaysia,” he told Malaysian reporters during a familiarisation trip to tourist locations in East Java recently.
Through the five-day programme, the journalists were taken to visit several districts, cities and national parks that are now open for visits in East Java, including Surabaya, Kota Batu, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, Alas Purwo National Park, Baluran National Park, Situbondo, and Banyuwangi.
In a related development, Aryadi added that his party is also in discussions to revive the ferry service between Aceh and Penang, which has been stopped previously.
He stressed that to revive the service requires coordination from various parties, but his office is very optimistic with the discussions that are being held.
Meanwhile, East Java province’s Culture, Tourism and International Relations Officer Chandra Nurhidayat said that the familiarisation trip to introduce interesting locations in East Java was held after the Indonesian government opened their border to foreign tourists last March.
“Compared to other districts and apart from Jakarta and Bali, East Java is now ready to receive visitors to several interesting tourist locations that are famous here,” he said.
He said, in East Java itself, which covers an area of 48,000 sq km, there are four national parks out of a total of 55 national parks in Indonesia.
“East Java also has highlands as tourist locations that offer various natural beauties, including active volcanoes such as Bromo and Semeru, as well as apple growing farms in Kota Batu, which are famous in the Southeast Asian region,” he said.
Chandra added that so far, only AirAsia Indonesia offers daily direct flights from Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 to Surabaya with a frequency of around two one-way flights a day. – The Vibes, June 2, 2022
