Ryan Pua, Vice President Commercial, SilkAir

Connecting seamlessly for travellers into Kuching - Ryan Pua, Vice President
Commercial, SilkAir - Mr Ryan Pua, Vice President Commercial, SilkAir
When Kuching comes to mind, many view it as simply another city in Malaysia. But
when you take a closer look, you will find that part of Kuching's attractiveness is in its
preservation of history, heritage, wildlife and rainforests.
The city is appealing as an international destination and viable as a global route because
of the diverse attractions on offer to the globe-trotting traveller. Kuching is also a part of
the larger state of Sarawak connecting travellers to other major towns such as Bintulu,
Sibu and Miri use the city to fly out of the state.
History lovers roving around Kuching can learn about Sarawak's rich history at Fort
Magherita and the Sarawak State Museum while wildlife lovers can observe orang utans
up close at the Semenggoh wildlife rehabilitation centre, located 24 kilometres from the
city. Those keen on nature can go to one of Sarawak's more popular national park, the
Bako National Park, while hikers can climb one of the three peaks at the Kubah National
Park, visible even from the Kuching waterfront.
Kuching is not only a gateway to rich heritage, breathtaking sights and wildlife, it also
celebrates its diversity in a big way. A perfect way to get introduced to these cultures is
through the Sarawak Cultural Village in Pantai Santubong where travellers experience a
'Living Museum' of different traditions and heritage of people living in Sarawak.
SilkAir began its services to Kuching in March 2005, and is one of the 45 destinations
where Silk Air operates. Flying into Kuching keeps up with our commitment to present
exciting and exotic Asian destinations for our customers and our efforts have seen
strong support from the Sarawak state government. Since October 2013, we have
increased our operations to Kuching from three to four times a week. In the coming
northern summer operating season, SilkAir will continue to run four times weekly flights
to Kuching.
With such strong connectivity to international hubs like Singapore Changi Airport.
Kuching has the opportunity to improve its appeal to business travellers. Tapping into
the business traveller market is bound to open up opportunities for leisure travel, so
Kuching needs to continue working on improving its infrastructure and boosting
awareness of its attractions and services.
Institutions such as the Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) have been working very hard
to draw the MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conferences, Conventions, and Exhibitions and
Events) traffic to Kuching. One of those events is Routes Asia 2014, the largest aviation
forum in the region. The hosting of Routes Asia 2014, the region’s largest aviation forum
in March is testimony to Kuching's reliable and excellent infrastructure. The event is
expected to attract about 800 delegates from over 80 airlines, 250 airports, coming
from close to 60 countries. Events like this will introduce Kuching to a wider audience
and showcase its potential.
The future for leisure tourism and adventure travel is bright for Kuching, a city with a
population of 330,000 people, but there is always room for further growth. To further
increase demand in the tourism sector for Kuching, airlines can play the role of
'salesman'. This is done by working closely with government agencies to create greater
awareness of Kuching in the overseas markets through roadshows and agency
familiarisation trips.
Airlines can also play the role of a 'middle man' by offering convenient connections for
travellers, as shown by SilkAir's and its parent company, Singapore Airlines’ roles in
providing the seamless connections and enjoyable travel experiences through to major
international hubs providing good connectivity to the rest of the world. These
connections are made possible through SilkAir's 350 weekly flights to 12 countries, and
through our fleet of 25 aircraft, made up of 6 Airbus A319s, 18 Airbus A320s and our
recently delivered Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
As in any growing tourism market, stronger marketing and cooperation between
airlines, airports, governments and tourism boards are always needed to improve on
demand by providing travellers with unforgettable experiences.
It is important that Kuching invests in ways to raise market awareness about its strategic
location, filling any gaps the industry and travellers may have about its attractiveness
when comparing it to its peers in the region.

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