The Penang State Government hails the whopping 783% increase in weekly international direct flights to the Penang International Airport (PIA) from January 2022 to July 2022 time frame.
The feat makes PIA to have the highest number of international direct flights after the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
The breakdown of numbers show that from 12 weekly flights from January 2022 it has increased to 106 weekly flights for July 2022.
Penang State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy YB Yeoh Soon Hin further emphasised his vision and mission to have more direct flights to PIA in the near future.
Present at the press conference to announce the latest positive development was the Penang director for the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC), Jonathan Freddy Bagang, Penang Global Tourism (PGT) chief executive officer Ooi Chok Yan and Tourism Malaysia deputy director for Northern Region, Puan Siti Hajar Yunus.
Other stakeholders present were Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH Penang Chapter) chairman, Tony Goh, PIA Senior Airport Manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim, Penang Hoteliers Association chairman, Datuk Lim Mee Lee, Ms Lisa Wong (MAS Area Manager Northern), MATTA Penang chairman, Vergis Mathews, AirAsia Northern director Ken Tan among others.
“The streets of Penang have seen an influx of international travellers and we are thrilled to see that tourism activities have begun to gain vitality in the market.
“We have also taken steps to reignite the marketing strategies catering to the international market from 2020. The “Welcome to Penang” tagline has also been highly elevated through the use of digital marketing schemes with promotions and deals curated exclusively for the travellers”, said Yeoh in his address.
Among the other initiatives was the Dubai World Expo, Arabian Travel Mart in Dubai, Tourism Malaysia Roadshow in Korea and the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council in Surabaya to increase the exposure of Penang at the global stage.
Meanwhile, the cruise industry has also picked up with the arrival of mega cruise ships like the “Spectrum of the Seas” by Royal Caribbean Cruises and the Genting Dream by Resort World Cruises calling at the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (SPCT) weekly.
Yeoh also pledged that with the cooperation of the various stakeholders, they will continue to enhance Penang’s position as a world-renowned destination because Penang truly has it all !!
