Lee (right) receiving a memento from Qian.
KUCHING: Sarawak Tourism Board (STB)’s marketing promotion in China was given a shot in the arm with Hubei Wanda New Airlines International Travel Services Co Ltd (Wanda New Airlines) expressing its desire to look into the potential of Sarawak as one of its new destination focus.
For a start, Wanda New Airlines International Services will send its product specialist team to Sarawak to see for themselves the various products that will be of interest to Chinese tourists.
The familiarisation trip scheduled for September will cover Kuching and Miri with the hope of preparing tour packages to be sold for its charter
services during next Chinese New Year.
Expressing his hope of breaking into the Hubei province market, particularly the 13 million population of the city of Wuhan, Assistant Minister for Tourism, Datuk Lee Kim Shin said the willingness of Wanda New Airlines International Services to see for themselves Sarawak’s potential was indeed another breakthrough during his four-day official visit to China.
On Tuesday, Lee announced that the Hebei Tourism Department had agreed to work together and collaborate with the STB in the joint marketing of Sarawak and the Province of Hebei which will culminate in a signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two tourism agencies.
Meanwhile, Wanda New Airlines International Services general manager and director Xie Hong said the company would also explore the possibilities of long term airlines charter services between Wuhan and Kuching or Miri.
“Should the load factor show promising results, the charter services will be elevated to be regular flights,” he stated.
Wanda New Airlines International Services is one of China’s top 10 travel agents offering services including inward and outbound travel, airline charters, hospitality and tourism development.
Earlier, Lee visited the Hubei Tourism Administration office where he was briefed on the province’s tourism development by Party Secretary Director Qian Yuankun.
Lee and his entourage are on the final leg of their four-day official mission covering Beijing, Hebei and Hubei.