Emirates has signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) with Malaysia Tourism Board today during the 29th edition of the Arabian Travel Market held in Dubai, to promote tourism and develop traffic into Malaysia from key markets across the airline’s network.

In the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group, the MoC was signed by Orhan Abbas, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations (Far East) at Emirates, and Dato’ Haji Zainuddin Abdul Wahab, Director General Tourism Malaysia.

Under the agreement, Emirates will develop initiatives to boost tourism to Malaysia, promoting it across its global network of over 130 destinations. The airline will also explore collaboration opportunities through organizing familiarization trips with key tourism and media profiles to the market, contributing to the revival of the travel and tourism sector.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer said: “Ever since our first flight to Malaysia in 1996, Emirates has remained committed to the market – not only in terms of providing good service to our customers, but also growing the market’s potential through partnerships and other initiatives with Malaysian travel industry stakeholders. We are pleased to be signing this MoC with Malaysia Tourism Board today, which builds on the successful relationship we have with Malaysia, and underscores its significance as a key market in Emirates’ global network.”

Nancy Shukri, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture said: “This collaboration will give further boost to the tourism industry and strengthen economic ties between Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. We hope Emirates will continue to work together with Tourism Malaysia to promote Malaysia as a unique travel destination, by highlighting different cities such as Kota Kinabalu and Penang. This collaboration also aims to attract international tourists from other markets such as Europe, America and Africa via Emirates airline’s network”.

In 2016, Emirates signed a codeshare agreement with Malaysian Airlines, offering customers seamless connections and more choice, as well as frequent flyer benefits and world-class travel experience across the globe. The agreement connects Malaysian Airlines’ passengers to destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas via Dubai, and Emirates’ passengers across Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and select Asia Pacific destinations via Kuala Lumpur.

Emirates resumed passenger flights to Malaysia on 17 June 2020 with reduced capacity following months of suspension due to the pandemic. It gradually increased passenger services in line with demand, to the current 11 weekly flights between Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, operated by an Emirates Boeing 777.  With the opening of Malaysian borders back in April, Emirates anticipates an increase in travel demand to and from the market.