THE state government is working towards establishing direct flights for the Penang-Chennai route, says state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai.
Wong (PH-Paya Terubong) made this announcement during his winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly sitting today. He was responding to a query posed by A. Kumaresan (PH-Batu Uban), who underscored the substantial impact on the Penang economy if the initiation of direct flights (Penang-Chennai) becomes a reality.
“If there are direct flights, whether from the airlines in Malaysia or the airlines in India, we can see an increase in the number of tourists from India.
“Recently, I met the High Commissioner of India to Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur to seek assistance in this matter.
“The state government will keep making efforts to establish direct flights to India,” Wong said.
He added that a delegation from the state government, through the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB), would be visiting India soon to attract more business conventions to Penang.
Wong also noted a recent increase in the number of concerts from India in Penang. He assured continued efforts by the state government to attract such cultural events to further enrich the cultural landscape of Penang.
Apart from that, Wong also said that Penang saw a rise in the influx of international tourists through cruise arrivals at the Swettenham Pier this year.
“In 2022, the pier welcomed 439,012 international tourists, and from January to October this year, there were 456, 611 international tourists.
“And I believe this will increase further towards the end of the year,” he added.
Earlier, in response to Heng Lee Lee’s (PH-Berapit) inquiry regarding tourist arrivals in Penang, Wong provided a written reply indicating a substantial increase of 138.37% in the first half of 2023 compared to the corresponding period last year.
He said the number of individuals entering Penang via the airport has witnessed a remarkable surge, doubling from 705,670 in the first half of 2022 to 1,682,094 in the same period this year.
Citing data from the Penang Immigration Department, Wong said the highest number of arrivals in the first half of 2023 originated from Indonesia, totalling 163,187. Following Indonesia were arrivals from Singapore (74,800), Taiwan (15,602), China (13,029), Thailand (10,468) and the United States (10,391).
Story by Tanushalini Moroter