TUI Group, one of the leading tourism groups in the world with 1600 travel agencies and a total of 16 cruise lines is setting up camp in Malaysia in order to promote fly-cruise holidays.
TUI picked Langkawi to homeport its cruise ships and will offer direct fortnightly flights to the city from 3 UK airports - Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester.
Passengers who arrive on the flights will spend a day in Langkawi prior to embarking on a 14-night voyage to destinations in Penang, Port Klang, Melaka before heading to Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.
The new initiative is due to boost European tourist arrivals in Malaysia as well as to promote cruise holidays.
The direct flights start from December 20, 2018 and run until March 29, 2019.
TUI’s 3 cruise companies, Hapag-Lloyd, Marella Cruises and TUI Cruises, have included Malaysia as part of cruise itineraries with vessels calling at Port Klang, Penang and Langkawi.