00:00 As Penang's tourism industry bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus is on
00:07 enhancing the infrastructure to cater to the booming industry.
00:11 One plan is the expansion and upgrading of the Penang International Airport by the federal
00:15 government, which would allow the airport to accommodate more than 12 million passengers
00:19 annually.
00:20 Penang's Tourism and Creative Economy Committee Chairman Wong Hon Wai said the project would
00:26 help to secure more direct flights to Penang.
00:28 We are recovering some of the pre-pandemic flights, some of them stopped, discontinued.
00:35 So I think next month there will be a Guilin China to Penang.
00:41 So there will be direct flights.
00:42 There are other international flights to be announced.
00:45 We are expecting the airline, we are working on it.
00:49 When it's right time, we will announce together with that particular airline.
00:54 It was reported that the RM1.2 billion airport expansion project was expected to begin next
00:59 year and will take between three and four years to complete.
01:03 Transport Minister Anthony Loke had earlier said that the entire cost of Penang International
01:08 Airport's expansion would be borne by Malaysia Airport's Holdings Berhad.
01:12 In a recent interview at his office in Komtar, Penang, Wong also said the state was also
01:17 working with the medical tourism industry to hold roadshows in ASEAN countries to bring
01:22 in more international patients.
01:24 So I received a report also from medical tourism.
01:26 I met them, the stakeholders, medical tourism players, updating me.
01:31 There are expansions of hospitals, pilot hospitals, whether it's in Plotikus area or whether it's
01:39 in Butterworth.
01:40 There are also new hospitals coming up in Sebrang Jaya, Sunbay Hospital coming in, Sebrang
01:45 Jaya, Bagan Hospital expanding, Highland is expanding.
01:49 So all these are expansions and we are working together with the medical tourism players.
01:54 We were working very closely.
01:56 We were having a roadshow in ASEAN countries.
02:00 He also said conference and convention tourism has also been bringing in plenty of tourists
02:04 to the state, adding that the tourism industry had experienced a quick recovery after a sharp
02:10 decline following the COVID-19 pandemic.
02:13 Results from the hotel list, because of the COVID pandemic time, we are going through
02:19 a V-shape, means that during good time and then it came down to the bottom and then now
02:24 it's picking up.
02:25 So it's a V-shape recovery and there are reports from the hotel industry, it's fully recovered.
02:32 The injection of capitals, new capitals, they have taken advantage of the COVID time and
02:38 the injection of new capitals, renovation being carried out and rebranding is going
02:43 to happen.
02:44 So you will see that there are more new hotels coming up than those closed down during the
02:49 pandemic.
02:50 Wong said he has been holding meetings with stakeholders in the tourism industry, especially
02:55 hotels, tourism agencies and medical institutions on how to further improve the tourism industry
03:00 in Penang.
03:01 I look forward to work hand in hand with the stakeholders.
03:09 I have met many of them, going for the following few weeks or months, I will continue to meet
03:14 many of them because they give us many proposals, many activities they have been buying.
03:19 So we will continue the effort.
03:21 It's all this small effort, programmes, activities, engagement.
03:27 So after two, three years of non-activities, the industry, for other countries also come
03:33 flying in to engage with us.
03:35 So we will see how we can tap into that.
03:40 Even the property sector, property sectors, MM2H, Malaysia-Made Second Home Play, they
03:46 are updating me there is a new interest from other countries, they are looking at how we
03:55 can make MM2H in Penang, linked with the property sectors, become more successful.
04:01 Wong said the state will be focusing more on the mainland as their approach has been
04:05 too island-centric for too long.
04:07 Thank you.
04:08 [END]
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