According to the report, Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture permanent secretary Ik Pahon Joyik lamented MASwings’ limited number of seats on its flights and its refusal to outsource the Mulu National Park route.

“At the rate it is going, it is not helping the state government in promoting the tourism sector due to its poor connectivity.”

“We have a world heritage site, but MASwings is not doing enough to assist us in providing more flights there.

Pahon said MASwings should outsource the route to other airlines if it could not service the route properly.

Pahon, who is also Sarawak Tourism Board CEO, urged tourism industry players to promote more aggressively the Mulu National Park and Kinabalu National Park in Sabah as twin packages.

He said both parks had been described as the paradise of Borneo, but the tourism industry was still not capitalising on their huge potential.

The Mulu National Park, declared a Unesco world heritage site in 2000, is famous for its concentration of caves and rich biodiversity.