LANGKAWI: For the next 13 weeks, more than 3,000 tourists from Finland will be spending their winter break here. This was made possible after two Finland-based tour operators, Lomamatkat and Aurinmatkat, organised a direct Helsinki-Langkawi weekly chartered flight arriving here every Wednesday.
The first group of 200 tourists arrived here on board the country's national carrier, Finnair, which landed at Langkawi International Airport at 6.50pm on Wednesday.
Present to welcome them were Tourism Ministry head of corporate communications Mona Fairuz Nordin, Tourism Malaysia's director for international marketing, Europe, America and Oceania Datin Normasila Musa and Langkawi Development Authority deputy general manager Hanaffi Ahmad.
The success in wooing the Nordic tourists to Langkawi is also attributed to Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen's sales mission to Finland last month.
Dr Ng had met Finland's key industry players, comprising tour operators and members of the media, to promote Malaysia as a holiday destination.
She said her ministry was aware that the Finland market had been slow.
"My trip to Helsinki was aimed specifically at addressing the situation and to find ways to boost tourist arrivals from Finland.
"I am very happy that our visitors are here and that more will come to holiday in our country.
"I also hope that there will soon be regular flights from Finland to Malaysia," she said in a statement.
The number of tourist arrivals from Finland had been on the rise over the past few years.
However, there was a slight decline in 2008, due in part to the global economic crisis and rising fuel prices.
Between January and August, Malaysia received a total of 14,732 tourists from Finland, representing a 9.7 per cent increase during the same period last year.
Last year, the average length of stay of each Finnish tourist was nine nights, with each tourist spending an average of RM317.70 per day.
Read more: Warm break for Nordic tourists http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/27juas/Article#ixzz18N1uz49i
The first group of 200 tourists arrived here on board the country's national carrier, Finnair, which landed at Langkawi International Airport at 6.50pm on Wednesday.
Present to welcome them were Tourism Ministry head of corporate communications Mona Fairuz Nordin, Tourism Malaysia's director for international marketing, Europe, America and Oceania Datin Normasila Musa and Langkawi Development Authority deputy general manager Hanaffi Ahmad.
The success in wooing the Nordic tourists to Langkawi is also attributed to Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen's sales mission to Finland last month.
Dr Ng had met Finland's key industry players, comprising tour operators and members of the media, to promote Malaysia as a holiday destination.
She said her ministry was aware that the Finland market had been slow.
"My trip to Helsinki was aimed specifically at addressing the situation and to find ways to boost tourist arrivals from Finland.
"I am very happy that our visitors are here and that more will come to holiday in our country.
"I also hope that there will soon be regular flights from Finland to Malaysia," she said in a statement.
The number of tourist arrivals from Finland had been on the rise over the past few years.
However, there was a slight decline in 2008, due in part to the global economic crisis and rising fuel prices.
Between January and August, Malaysia received a total of 14,732 tourists from Finland, representing a 9.7 per cent increase during the same period last year.
Last year, the average length of stay of each Finnish tourist was nine nights, with each tourist spending an average of RM317.70 per day.
Read more: Warm break for Nordic tourists http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/27juas/Article#ixzz18N1uz49i
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