KOTA KINABALU: Uzbekistan travel agents wants to develop Sabah as their new tourism market.
Leovit Biznes charter owner Dilshod Elmuradov said they can start-off with charter flights to bring in visitors from Central Asia.
“This is the second time I’m visiting Sabah. And this time, I’m coming to plan for the charter flights with the local travel agents,” said Dilshod.
He was here on a familiarisation trip from Sept 2-4, with a group of travel agents from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
“We are planning to launch the direct charter flights to Sabah from one of the four destinations namely Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand or Namangan,” he said.
The equatorial humid climate of Malaysia is perfect for the Uzbeks to escape the freezing winter, he said.
Funholiday’s managing director Connie Chong said the Uzbek and Tajik travel agents were excited to visit the islands at Tunku Abdul Rahman Park.
Many had never seen the islands before because they lived in landlocked countries.
“The Uzbeks want to travel out from their country during the winter months from Dec to Feb, because the temperatures can drop below zero Celsius,” she said.
I-World sales manager Brandy Wong said there was a stark contrast between Sabah and Uzbekistan in terms of attractions, food, weather and so on.
“So the uniqueness of Sabah which is blessed with abundant of unspoiled nature is a perfect destination for them to explore,” said Wong.-HS
