National Airline of Maldives, ‘Maldivian’ has begun operating flights to Hangzhou City, China.Its maiden flight to Hangzhou completed its journey on Friday.
China is one of the top source markets for Maldivian tourism, with ever increasing tourist arrivals. With the national airline, Maldivian starting to operate flights to Hangzhou City, Chinese tourist arrivals is foreseen to observe a boost. High level officials from Island Aviation were present to welcome the 200 passengers from the maiden flight, at Velana International Airport from Hangzhou City.
Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang Province of China which is among one of the most popular vacation spots located in South-East China. The city is known for its beautiful landscapes and is one among the seven ancient capitals of China.
Answering a question by PSM News, the Managing Director of Island Aviation Abdullah Haris stated that the commencement of direct flights to destinations such as Hangzhou, would have great advantages for the tourism industry of Maldives. This would boost the occupancy of resorts and have a positive effect on their businesses, Haris noted.
Speaking about the latest addition to the routes of Maldivian, the Deputy Chief,Cooperate of Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) Mohamed Niyaaz stated that, this would open window for such additional destinations to follow. Niyaz described this move, as a great benefit to the development of Velana International Airport.
The Agent of China, Chen Lio, highlighted efforts by both the Chinese and the Maldivian governments to expand air travel between both nations. Additional flights to new destinations in China would follow, in the near future, he revealed.
Currently, Maldivian would operate a weekly flight to Hangzhou city. The latest statistics by the Ministry of Tourism revealed that in the first half of this year, Chinese tourist arrivals exceeded 175 thousand. Maldivian currently operates international flights to 6 cities of China. The airline is currently seeking a route to operate to South Africa.