Penang striving to add direct flights from three countries, says exco

GEORGE TOWN: Penang is working on adding three more direct flights from India, Shanghai (China) and Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to further boost the tourism industry in the state.

State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said they are trying to strengthen the direct international airline network to Penang by holding continuous discussions.

He said so far, 13 international cities have direct flights to Penang.

“Earlier this month, I led a Penang tourism industry delegation to Xiamen, China and met Xiamen Air representatives to look at joint marketing activities.

“Discussions with Xiamen Air top executives regarding an improvement to the XiamenPenang route have been going on since last September and both parties agreed to it,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Wong said he also visited the IndiGo headquarters in New Delhi, India to study the opportunity to open more direct flight routes from India to Penang.

He said that he and Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau chief executive officer G. Ashwin also met tourism industry representatives in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Kochi to introduce tourism resources and facilities in Penang.

“Penang is also carrying out negotiations with airline companies from Shanghai to discuss the potential of opening direct routes from there to Penang, with the aim of further strengthening collaboration with the markets in China.

“I also visited the China Eastern Airlines and Juneyao Air headquarters in Shanghai when attending the ITB Shanghai tourism exhibition last September,” he said.

He added that Penang Global Tourism chief executive officer Ooi Chok Yan and her team had gone to Dubai to meet with the top management of Flydubai to coordinate new flight routes from there to Penang, which are scheduled to operate in February to further expand the state’s flight connections in the Middle East.

Wong said the additional international flight routes would play a crucial role in expanding the state’s tourism industry.

“This will not only help Penang enhance its position as Asia’s tourism destination but also contribute positively to the state’s economic prosperity,” he said.