KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) aims to post a four to five per cent increase in passenger traffic next year on optimism of a recovery in air travel, managing director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad said Monday.

Based on the industry trend observed in the last two to three months, the increase will be slightly more than than the three to four per cent gowth projected this year, he said.

"We believe that air travel will start to recover and this will help with growth in 2010," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Airport Council International (ACI) and Asia-Pacific Conference and Exhibition here.

Bashir said that MAHB was doing better than expected this year in line with higher tourism figures.

"The tourism industry has done a good job as it has helped to boost our traffic figures," he said.

-- BERNAMA