Ahead of Malaysia’s border reopening on 1 April, Penang has been
strategising and laying the groundwork with its BElong campaign in eager
anticipation of welcoming back international business travellers and
the gradual return of leisure travellers.
Yeoh
Soon Hin, Penang State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy (PETACE)
said the state has been nothing short of proactive in building and
reclaiming traveller’s trust, and was the first to educate all
stakeholders on their roles to be a responsible entity while undertaking
tourism activities.
“Penang was the first state to begin the initiative of having a
'Covid-19 Safety Accreditation Programme’. It was open to tourist
industry sectors such as hotels, attractions and tour operators and all
who met certification were issued official emblems that they could use
for advertising and promotional purposes,” he added.
Malaysia
is on a transitional path from pandemic to endemic, and in its endemic
state, restrictions will be progressively removed, Yeoh said,
referencing the WHO's recommendations on implementing coordinated and
evidence-based approaches to balancing the concern of public health and
retaining the survival of the tourism industry.
CEO of Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB), Ashwin
Gunasekeran said that from 2022 the state would be concentrating on the
sectors they specialise and are the most prolific in when it comes to
corporate events – education; technology; manufacturing; health; and
culture and heritage.
He noted that medical science was an important sector in Penang and
local stakeholders are of world-class standards. There are future plans
in the works to establish a one-stop ASEAN medical and digital hub in
mainland Penang.
Yeoh also mentioned that Penang would be looking at the creative
industries and integrating art, culture and heritage with the use of
multimedia as it is interlinked with tourism. He further shared that in
Penang’s concerted efforts to accelerate the return of tourism, the
state has been marketing lesser-known locales in Balik Pulau, Telok
Bahang and Seberang Perai. Penang is also looking at diversifying its
tourism products, offering new experiences and creating new business
opportunities.
As for leisure travel, a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Penang
and Singapore would start on 16 March. Yeoh said however they would not
look at further VTLs with other countries as the trend worldwide is to
fully open up international borders for all travellers.
“Currently we have flights coming in directly from Singapore and
Taiwan. We will be initiating discussions with other airlines to fly in
now that the borders will open up next month. As for cruises we’re
hoping they restart too and we’ll be talking to the operators,” he said.
Despite several hotel closures over the past two years, Yeoh is
confident that visitors coming into Penang will still get their pick of
the litter as there are many new hotels which have recently opened, such
as the Ascott Gurney, and others slated to launch soon that will more
than make up for the past closures.