This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 2, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd, in a tourism collaboration with the Indonesian government to promote the wonders of Indonesia to Malaysians, is not only looking for increased revenue from the tie-up, but also an opportunity to contribute to the social cohesion between the two countries, according to its chief executive officer Aireen Omar.

“Revenue contribution will go beyond just ticket sales. From the tourists coming in and spending their money, we usually see a 12 times multiplier that will definitely contribute to the economy of both countries,” Aireen told reporters at a media briefing yesterday.

Currently, AirAsia connects Malaysia with Indonesia through more than 350-time weekly flights to different cities such as Banda Aceh, Bali, Jakarta, Lombok, Medan, Pekanbaru, Palembang, Padang, Pontianak, Semarang, Solo, Surabaya, Makassar and Yogyakarta. The airline also has flights to Indonesia from Kuching, Penang and Johor.

In conjunction with the collaboration, AirAsia has increased its flight frequency between Kuala Lumpur and Bali to 56 times a week. It is also offering a promotion for flights to Indonesia, with fares from RM79 for bookings from Aug 1 to Aug 6 for immediate travels until Feb 25 next year.

Meanwhile, the ministry of tourism in Indonesia is looking to welcome 1.5 million tourists from Malaysia by year end, through its collaboration with AirAsia.

According to professional staff to the minister of tourism infrastructure Judi Rifajantoro, the collaboration is to drive tourism efforts in promoting Indonesia to Malaysians through the vast connectivity the airline offers across 15 destinations in Indonesia.