One of the tour groups to Haikou about to on the inaugural flight.
One of the tour groups to Haikou about to on the inaugural flight.
The inaugural flight touching down in Haikou International Airport.
HAIKOU: The first inaugural Kuching to Hainan direct flight took off last night, carrying 71 Malaysians and two Chinese nationals to Haikou city via Malindo Air.
The flight took off at 10:30pm last night from Kuching International Airport (KIA) and arrived at Haikou International Airport this morning at 1:50am after a three-and-a-half-hour flight.
The direct flight which is now scheduled to run two times per week is not part of Malindo Air regular schedule. Instead, it is a private chartered flight organised by a large network of travel agencies in Sarawak.
Keen travellers will be able to book the flight on Malindo Air’s website. But if travellers are looking for a little bang with your buck, they may also book flights and tours through any of the involved agencies in this endeavour.
Currently, there are 15 agencies in Sarawak that offer tours to Hainan via this direct flight from Kuching. They are:
Kuching
Ibanika Tours & Travel
Lung Chia Pin Travel and Tours
Multiclients Travels
Inter-Borneo Tours
Sarawak Steamship
Cat City Holidays
Natol Holidays & Tours
Great Leap Tour
Belair Travel and Tours
Good Time Travel
Timeless Vacation
Summer Holiday Travel and Tour
Sibu
Truly Travelmart
Sibu Travel Agency
Miri
Miri Borneo Travel Agencies
There are two tours on offer at the moment – the five days three nights Lovely Hainan package which is priced at RM1,588 and the six days four nights Dynamic Hainan package which is priced at RM1,988.
These tours are all inclusive of flights, accommodation, transport, tours and meals.
Lina Tsen of Ibanika Tours & Travel said: “We are selling tours up to March right now but we have tours planned until June.
She added that the new direct flight could potentially be a huge game changer for the tourism industry in Sarawak as it would increase the connectivity between the two countries.
“After arriving to Hainan, you can easily connect to the rest of China via their domestic flights.
“There is a huge amount of potential in tourism here, not just outbound tourism but also inbound tourism from Chinese tourists as well.
On that note, the chartered flight headed back soon after carrying 53 Chinese tourists who reached KIA this morning at 6:30am.