The Penang state government has called on Putrajaya to include the Penang International Airport’s (PIA) in Malaysia’s Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) plans, especially with the Malaysia-Indonesia VTL on the horizon.
Penang State Executive Councillor for Tourism and Creative Economy YB Yeoh Soon Hin said that the initial announcement made pertaining to the Malaysia-Indonesia VTL unveiled quarantine-free air travel between the two nations, but unfortunately only involves Kuala Lumpur while the Indonesian counterpart puts forth two cities – Bali and Jakarta.
“PIA has always been one of the important international airports in Southeast Asia that welcomed arrivals from all around the globe,” he added.
Yeoh highlighted that figures over the past 5 years (2015 – 2020) have clearly shown that Indonesia tops the international arrival chart for PIA and should be a factor to be considered by Putrajaya in the Malaysia-Indonesia VTL.
According to the statistics from the Penang Immigration Department, PIA recorded commendable 275,933 arrivals from Indonesia in year 2019; 245,920 (2018); 279,173 (2017); 264,546 (2016) and 268,892 (2015).
“In 2019, Northern Malaysia’s healthcare traveller performance also outpaced other regions by hitting the RM750 million benchmark, making us the most established player in healthcare travel.
“Arrivals from Indonesia are vital in creating multiplier effects for the state and nation’s economy. If PIA is given the equal opportunity as KLIA, we will certainly see a reboot in the entire supply chain for northern Peninsular Malaysia ranging from accommodation, food and beverage, logistics, retail, tourism and as well as transportation,” he said in a statement today.
He also noted that making PIA as part of VTL also provides better accessibility, connectivity and convenience to local and international markets.