The Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts has set a target of attracting more than 200,000 visitors within the next six years through the Kuching Umrah Gateway (KUG).
Its minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said that the KUG will be a major contributor to our tourism industry and providing a seamless travel experience for visitors.
The initiative, which was formalised with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) last year, aims to establish direct flights from Kuching to Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia starting this year.
He said this during his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) today.
“The KUG will offer direct flights to Jeddah or Medina, with feeder flights available from Pontianak, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, Samarinda, Ujung Padang (Makassar), Jakarta in Indonesia, and Mindanao in the Philippines to support the mainline operations of the Umrah flight carriers,” he said.
