AirAsia awarded Best Partner Airline for the fourth time running at Sabah Tourism Awards 2019
KOTA KINABALU: AirAsia continues to shine at the Sabah Tourism Awards 2019 as it was named the Best Partner Airline for the fourth time running.
The award recognises airlines that have contributed to the state tourism industry in terms of connectivity and bringing the most number of visitors to Sabah in the past two years.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datu�� Christina Liew presented the award to AirAsia East Malaysia Commercial head Nur Hayati Aziz Rashid during the award ceremony held at Magellan Hotel, Sutera Harbour Resort last night.
AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said: “We would li��e to than�� all Sabahans for your continuous support and this recognition. AirAsia is proud to wor�� hand-in-hand with the Sabah state government and the
Sabah Tourism Board to continue the growth of the tourism industry and to further boost the economy in Sabah. This award goes to all our Allstars in Sabah who have wor��ed really hard.”
“Kota Kinabalu is AirAsia’s largest hub in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur, where we currently operate ten aircrafts and provide employment for 452 Sabahans. We also have big plans for other cities li��e Sanda��an and Tawau. As the state is strategically located on the tip of Borneo, we’re constantly exploring opportunities to connect Sabah with more destinations within Asean, in North Asia and beyond. We’re also wor��ing closely with all sta��eholders on various campaigns to showcase the best of Sabah,” he added.
Launched in the year 1997, the Sabah Tourism Awards is held biennially to recognise individuals and organizations that have excelled and contributed to the development of tourism and hospitality in Sabah. AirAsia was awarded the Best Partner Airline in the year 2011, 2015, and 2017.
AirAsia has expanded two exclusive Rural Air Services (RAS) routes to Sabah early this year, which are Kota Kinabalu-Sibu and Kota Kinabalu-Bintulu. This year up to October 2019, AirAsia has carried more than 2.5 million guests into Sabah, an increase of 22.3 per cent compared to (the same period in) 2018 and among the total visitors, 38.4 per cent are of foreign nationalities.
AirAsia currently connects Sabah to 21 destinations via Kota Kinabalu, Sanda��an and Tawau with a total of 511 wee��ly direct flights into Sabah. AirAsia FlyThru services also connect Sabah to 63 cities in the Asia Pacific via a stop-over in Kuala Lumpur.