Mumbai: The Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) unveiled the 7th edition of the Penang Roadshow titled +Penang Odyssey+ here recently as part of its four-city tour covering Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Kochi.
The ‘Penang Odyssey” campaign highlights the PCEB’s strategic initiative aimed at elevating Penang as the ‘preferred’ destination for business and leisure, alongside fostering mutually-beneficial relationships with India’s travel agents, said Ashwin Gunasekeran, Chief Executive Officer, Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau.
“India’s is witnessing people with rising income levels who are looking at exploring other parts of the world and we want to highlight Penang tourism for them,” Wong Hon Wai, Penang State EXCO for Tourism and Creative Economy (PETACE), said adding “We have the largest waterslide in the world, besides the largest “Butterfly Park’ in Asia.”
“We are talking with Indian travel agents to come out with various tourism packages including combining a 10-day, three-destination package covering Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand,” he said while noting that India has always been Penang’s strong source market in among the top ten number of tourists visiting Penang that will rise to the top five soon, judging from their increasing tourist numbers.
He said that while Indian tourists are the second highest visitors for Penang’s Cruise Tourism, other tourist attractions awaiting tourists here included the two UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, one which included a “Hill, State Park and Marine area.”
“We are also highlighting Penang as a tech and manufacturing hub – since we got the name +Silicon Valley of the East+,” Wai said while noting that 2023 saw Penang hosting 600 events with 160,000 delegates and an estimated economic impact of RM1 billion.
Malaysia’s facilitating a seamless travel experience – including visa-free regime, upto 30 days stay – is also seeing Penang working on establishing additional direct flights and other convenient options, he added.
