SINGAPORE – 16 October 2019 – In conjunction with the Penang State Tourism’s year-long campaign to usher in the excitement of Visit Malaysia Year 2020, the Penang Global Tourism launched ‘Experience Penang 2020’ last evening, to a host of media friends, trade partners and business associates at PARKROYAL on Beach Road in Singapore.
According to statistics from Penang Immigration, visitor arrivals hit a record high for the period Jan-Aug 2019, with a 207.67% increase to 89,535 from 29,101 in the same period last year. Of the visitor arrivals comprising mainly from Southeast Asia, east Asia, Australia, the UK, and the US, Singapore registered as the second highest.
The ‘Experience Penang 2020’ campaign, with the tagline The Diversity of Asia, encompasses diverse elements of beauty, fun, amusement, excitement and satisfaction. With the rise in demand for experiential travel, the campaign aims to highlight all of Penang’s splendour to visitors locally and abroad showcasing every aspect of Penang’s amazing diversity in culture, heritage, arts, food as well as its natural surroundings of sandy beaches, breathtaking hills and cityscapes.
Shining spotlight on some of Penang’s local attractions and festivals, the event brought together a diverse mix of partners across retail, hotel, travel, dining, nightlife, culture and entertainment itineraries. Amongst the highlights are some of the world’s first, including the World’s Highest Ropes Course Challenge, World’s Longest Water Slide at 1,111-meter-long, World’s Highest Altitude Stressed Ribbon Bridge, World’s First Tower Curved Skywalk, World’s First Free Standing Vertical Drop Slide, and World’s First Tropical Butterfly & Insect Sanctuary. From luxurious city-highs to unconventional adventures, epicurean and cultural delights, guests had the opportunity to witness some of Penang’s unending excitement.
Officiating the launch event, Guest-of-Honour, YB Yeoh Soon Hin, Penang State EXCO for Tourism, Arts, Culture & Heritage (PETACH) shared a series of exciting plans for Penang in 2020, “The tourism sector is one of the state’s economic main contributors that is progressing well each year and have hit an all-time high of 7.79 million passengers last year, an increase from 7.2 million passengers achieved in 2017.”
“Penang has been enjoying renewed adoration both by local and foreign tourists, and Singapore has always remained in the top 3 among total international passenger arrivals in the past 5 years. Adding to this unending excitement, visitors to Penang can also experience the amazing new attractions, festivals and happenings all year round – presenting an ideal destination for a truly unique experience of Asia’s diversity.”
Ooi Chok Yan, CEO of Penang Global Tourism said, ” Most visitors to Penang are familiar with Georgetown’s history, culture and accolades, but there is more to Penang than that. Apart from the expansive tourism business, Penang is also ho me to a diverse mix of cities, islands and entire countries for adventures — and one of the major developments for 2020 is centred on global connectivity.”
“Plans in place include new flights and frequencies, expansion projects at main tourist arrival gateways at Penang International Airport and Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal; improved transport infrastructure at Penang Sentral (comprehensive public transportation hub integrating bus, railway and sea transportation), Penang LRT project across a 30km route, new hotels and more.”
From time-honoured recipes to heritage trades and arts, Experience Penang 2020 aims to engage local and foreign visitors through sharing more about the unconventional experiences in Penang – broadly organised into the three key pillars of:
1. Culture / Heritage: Showcasing Penang’s local heritage and rediscovery through Malaysia’s best-restored and re-adaptive traditional architecture and heritage trades.
2. Nature / Adventure: Explore the fascinating world of Penang’s lush greenery and landscapes, from the more laid-back walking trails, to an adventure throve up in the hills.
3. Food / Art / Lifestyle: Featuring Penang’s most immersive experiences evolving on the modern pursuit of foodie culture, street-art, entertainment and nightlife.
