Penang State Executive Councillor for Tourism and Creative Economy, YB Wong Hon Wai visited Xiamen in Fujian, China, where he met with Xiamen Customs and the Xiamen People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to further strengthen ties between the two cities.
“Penang and Xiamen officially established a sister-city relationship in 1993, and more than 30 years have passed since then. Xiamen is George Town’s oldest and closest sister city in East Asia, and also Penang’s only sister city in China. The two places have long been closely connected through history. Whether in terms of shared ancestry, the Minnan linguistic heritage, or folk culture, both sides share common roots, forming a strong foundation for our relationship.”
“Exchanges between Penang—and Malaysia as a whole—and Xiamen have always been close. This is evident from the fact that Malaysia is Xiamen’s largest source of inbound tourists. Compared to other Malaysian states, Penang has the advantage of George Town being Xiamen’s sister city, which gives it a significant edge in developing the Xiamen tourism market.”
“Fujian people make up a large proportion of the Chinese community in Penang. The cultural heritage of Chinese communities in Penang and Fujian is closely linked—their food preferences are similar, and the language is mutually intelligible. Xiamen is part of Fujian Province, which is not only an important tourism source market for Penang, but also the ancestral homeland for many Penang Chinese of Fujian descent. Based on this, Penang can leverage Xiamen as a sister city, using the daily direct flights between Xiamen and Penang as a pivot to expand tourism and cultural exchanges to the Minnan ‘Golden Triangle’ of Xiamen, Zhangzhou, and Quanzhou, and even across the entire Fujian province, further growing its South China tourism market.” said Wong.
He also added that In November last year, he had chaired an online working meeting between Penang Airport and Xiamen Airport customs authorities to explore the establishment of a joint health quarantine cooperation mechanism.
He was also informed that Xiamen’s newly built Xiang’an International Airport will officially commence operations by the end of this year, while the existing Gaoqi International Airport will be closed. Penang tourism stakeholders will need to prepare in advance for related transport and logistics arrangements.
Also present at the meeting were State Assemblyman for Pengkalan Kota Wong Yuee Harng, Xiamen People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries Vice President Guo Lin, Director Peng Jun from the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, official Shen Yue from the Xiamen Foreign Affairs Office, Xiamen Customs Deputy Director Lin Shifeng, Xiamen Airport Customs Director Zheng Jianhui, and Director Yang Qingshuang from the Health Quarantine Division of Xiamen Customs,
Source – Penang Tourism Exco Office