By V. Sivaji
Penang’s tourism received yet another boost when China Southern Airlines announced that they will increase their flight frequency from seven flights a week to 14 flights a week from Guangzhou effective June 20th.
Added to this positive development, another new airline, Juneyao Air will commence its direct flight from Shanghai from May 31, 2024.
In sharing this update, State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy YB Wong Hon Wai expressed his confidence that more Chinese tourists will be coming to Penang.
“The data shows that for Q1 this year, there was a total of 22,420 passengers or a 370% increase for the same period in 2023.
“The surge of Chinese travellers will help the tourism industry and also drive the state economy”, added Wong speaking on the sidelines of the press conference for the 2nd edition of the PWGS Trade Fair 2024 yesterday.
He also added that the arrival numbers marked a big difference compared with the same period for 2023 with only 4,768 arrivals at the Penang International Airport from Jan to March last year.
Meanwhile, China Southern Airlines has been flying to Penang ever since 1991, which makes it 33 years since it opened the air route between China and Penang
Other airlines currently providing connectivity to and from China are the Xiamen Airlines connecting Xiamen-Penang, seven flights a week.
The Batik Air is providing connectivity from Haikou (Hainan Province) to Penang along with Cathay Pacific connecting Hong Kong with four flights a week and AirAsia connecting Hong Kong with three three flights a week.