First Philippines Tourism Fair Begins Friday

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 (Bernama) -- The maiden Philippines Tourism Fair in Malaysia will take off at the main concourse area of the Berjaya Times Square here beginning Friday. According to a statement issued by the Philippine Embassy, the three-day event is jointly organised by the Philippines Department of Tourism and the shopping complex. The tourism fair will showcase the various Philippine tourism destinations with special promotion tour packages made available to its visitors through the Consortium of Malaysian travel agents marketing the Philippine tours. "We hope this tourism fair would serve as another avenue for our Malaysian neighbours and friends to discover the Philippines as a tourism destination," said Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia, J. Eduardo Malaya. Last year, 91,752 Malaysian tourists visited the Philippines while 362,101 Philippine tourists visited Malaysia. Malaya said the opening of new air routes between the Philippines and Malaysia are expected to provide more opportunities to people from both countries to discover the beauty and richness of tourism destinations. "The Philippines and Malaysia have been experiencing a rennaissance in their bilateral relations with increasing trade, investment and tourism," he said. AirPhilExpress commenced flights on June 21 and flies the Kuala Lumpur-Manila route every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 to the Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). AirAsia Philippines launched its inaugural flight from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Airport, Pampanga to the LCCT on June 9 and now flies daily. "This new route complimented its parent company, AirAsia's Manila-Kuala Lumpur route, which flies twice a day. "The entry of AirPhilExpress and AirAsia Philippines brings to four the number of airlines directly servicing the Philippine-Malaysia route," Malaya said. -- BERNAMA