SEPANG (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Tourists from China have begun to arrive in Malaysia via charter flights connecting the city of Wuhan and Kuala Lumpur.

The flights were introduced under a charter agreement between Tourism Malaysia and Hubei Wanda New Airlines Travel Services.

The charter flights, which commenced on June 30, will run three times weekly up to June 29 next year with a projected 158 flights.

"This is a major development to regain our footing in the China market as the charter flight programme is expected to contribute a total of 26,386 arrivals from China and RM76.2 million (S$29.8 million) in tourist receipts.

"It marks the symbolic new stage of the Malaysia-China tourism recovery plan following the disappearance of flight MH370 in early March," Tourism Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen said after welcoming 143 Chinese tourists at the KL International Airport early Thursday morning.

The tourists had arrived in Malaysia via one of the charter flights from Wuhan, which is the capital of the Hubei province.