GHIAL, MAHB and MTPB Sign Memorandum of Agreement

GMR HYDERABAD International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL), Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) and Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) today with a strategic vision to promote tourism from the catchment area of RGIA Hyderabad to Malaysia. Mr. SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL, Datuk Mohd Badlisham Ghazali, Managing Director, MAHB and Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani Daud, Deputy Director General (Promotion), MTPB signed the agreement amidst the presence of His Excellency Dato’ Hidayat Abdul Hamid – High Commissioner of Malaysia and dignitaries from the participating organisations.

This tri-partite MoA involves collaborative market research, strategy development, promotional campaigns and marketing efforts. These efforts are expected to enhance the visibility of ‘Destination Malaysia’ in Hyderabad and the catchment area of RGIA. The trend shows that over 100,000 passengers travel between Hyderabad and Malaysia every year; and this traffic has grown by 28 per cent CAGR in the last 5 years.  Since the large segment of residents of Hyderabad and surrounding areas are keen to travel for vacations to destinations like Malaysia, the campaigns, envisaged under this agreement, are expected to boost the tourism traffic by showcasing Malaysia’s tourism attractions to this large pool of potential travellers. 

With a short flying time of about 4 hours, Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia Berhad operate convenient daily flights between Hyderabad and Kuala Lumpur. Due to the growing demand for travel on this route, there is considerable interest by existing and other airlines to add capacity on this route.

Speaking on this occasion, SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL, said, “We are happy to sign this first of its kind MoA between airport operators – GHIAL and MAHB and Malaysia Tourism. This is a strategic initiative, which we have taken up to enhance the outbound tourism from our catchment region to key international destinations to enhance RGIA’s International connectivity and traffic growth. We are hopeful that through these efforts we can encourage a new segment of potential tourists from our region. This in turn will help the airlines operating between Hyderabad and Malaysia, thus providing greater tourism and connectivity options for people in the State of Telangana and adjoining regions.”

Datuk Mohd Badlisham Ghazali, Managing Director, MAHB, said, “We are delighted to partner MTPB and GHIAL in this unique endeavour. This mutually beneficial three-way partnership will enhance the visibility of Malaysia’s tourism attractions in Hyderabad and surrounding areas. This will in turn boost arrivals of Indians from South-central India to Malaysia.”

Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani Daud, Deputy Director General (Promotion), MTPB, said, “We are happy to sign this strategic MoA. This will lead to Malaysia being aggressively promoted in South-Central India via promotional campaigns in key locations especially GMR-Hyderabad International Airport. The three partners will focus our promotional efforts towards airlines, tour operators, travel agents, destination management companies (DMCs), MICE agents, and the media to boost the tourism traffic”

RGIA being the gateway of choice for South and Central India, passengers from tier II & III cities in this region also prefer to Fly via Hyderabad to their preferred destinations.

Hyderabad Airport has witnessed 15.24 Million Passengers Per Annum in FY2016-17, registering a growth of approx. 22 per cent in overall passenger traffic and 23 per cent growth in air traffic movements over FY2015-16. With its extensive route network and choice of airlines for its passengers, RGIA has firmly established itself as the ‘Gateway of Choice’ in South and Central Indian region. As a result, RGIA has recorded a 56 per cent growth in domestic transfer passengers in FY17 & over FY16.

Now 10 domestic carriers connect Hyderabad with 39 domestic destinations. The airport also connects 18 international destinations with 16 foreign and 3 Indian carriers. To cater to the growing passenger traffic, Hyderabad Airport will soon expand and significantly enhance its capacity.

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