THE state government, through the Penang Tourism and Creative Economy office (Petace), launched the ‘7 World Wonders of Penang’ during the tourism roadshow in Hatyai recently.
State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said it was aimed at wooing Thai tourists, especially from southern Thailand, to Penang.
Yeoh said he was proud to unveil the state’s campaign ‘Experience Penang 2022: The Diversity of Asia’ to introduce the seven attractions and their new challenges for all tourists around the world.
“We want to showcase that Penang is diversely made to offer the best-in-class experience for everyone who seeks a different experience of the journey that fulfils your dream and purpose in life,” he said.
The ‘7 World Wonders of Penang’ are the world’s longest outdoor water slide – a Guinness World Record (Escape Penang), the world’s highest altitude stressed ribbon bridge surrounded by 130-million-year-old forest which is much, much older than the Amazon (The Habitat Penang Hill), the world’s steepest tunnel track towards Penang Hill (Penang Hill), the world’s first tropical butterfly farm (Entopia), the world’s highest ropes course challenge (The Gravityz), the world’s first free-standing vertical drop slide (Tech Dome Penang) and the world’s first tower semi-curved skywalk (The Top Penang).
Buletin Mutiara interviewed some members of the public for their feedback on this latest initiative by the Penang government. Below are their comments:
Devaropan Ravichandran (23, student):
“This is truly a good initiative by the state government as it can revive the state tourism and spur the local economy to be more vibrant again like the pre-pandemic level.
“Once the Thai tourists come to Penang, I am very sure they will not go to these seven places only but will explore other places as well. This, in turn, will help the local businesses as well.
“I am pretty sure that there will be more initiatives coming from the state government after this to attract even more international tourists from around the world to Penang.”
Nabila Ramli (28, businesswomen):
“First of all, I am very happy to see there are many initiatives taken by the state government and its agencies to help boost the tourism industry in Penang.
“And with the latest initiative known as the ‘7 World Wonders of Penang’, it will be a good platform to woo Thai tourists, especially those from the Songkla province to Penang as both are near to each other.
“At the same time, based on the current trend, I can see that people are now preferring to have their vacation in Thailand due to its many interesting places and nice beaches.
“So, it is a win-win situation as we are neighbours. We can have a vacation in their country and they do likewise.”
Asroha Mohd Lazim (44, public servant):
“It is timely that the Penang government launched this initiative because the Thai border has just recently been opened.
“So, this will attract a lot of Thai tourists to visit Penang with such efforts and attractive promotions that we have done.
“Besides that, Penang also is easy to access and does not need a visa and PCR test. It is just across the border from Hatyai, and from Bangkok, it takes only one and a half hours by flight.
“So, it is a perfect opportunity to boost the tourism industry in Penang with the ‘7 World Wonders of Penang’ initiative.”
Mohd Khairul Umam Azmi (27, technician):
“I am glad to note that the Penang government has launched this initiative to promote these seven places since they are among the worst affected by the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic back then.
“This will also help to create a spill-over effect to other tourist attractions in the state as well and boost the local economy.
“So, traders, hawkers, tourism operators and others will benefit from such an initiative.
“And I think the state government, together with various tourist associations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), have done more than enough through various initiatives to ensure the tourism industry in Penang rebound strongly.
“Now, we can see that Penang has started to record positive tourism growth since the country’s borders were reopened.”
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis