(From second left) Ooi, Manoharan, Khairul, Yeoh, Abdul Aziz and Ding at the Hong Kong-Penang flight welcoming ceremony. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
AFTER 14 years, AirAsia has resumed its Penang-Hong Kong route.
AirAsia AK2280 touched down at Penang International Airport and was greeted with a water salute.
Dignitaries welcoming the passengers included Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, the then Penang tourism and creative economy committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin and consul-general of China in Penang Ding Qiao.
Yeoh, who has since been nominated to take over as Penang Port Commission chairman, was pleased with the direct flight.
“Hong Kong has long been a hub of commerce and innovation.
“It is also an important gateway to the vast mainland of China,” he said, adding that his team advertised Penang’s attractions on Hong Kong’s iconic trams to reach people there.
Buletin Mutiara reported that over the past five years, Yeoh had worked to forge direct air links between Penang and major global cities.
Among cities identified for direct flights are Abu Dhabi and Dubai (UAE), Doha (Qatar), Chennai and Mumbai (India), Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing and Chengdu (China), Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (South Korea), Istanbul (Turkiye) and Sydney (Australia).
Khairul, who read out Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing’s speech, said Malaysia’s goal for the year was 15.6 million tourist arrivals and RM47.6bil in tourism receipts.
He added that Malaysia aimed to attract five million visitors from China.
Initiatives planned under Tourism Malaysia include missions to China’s Tier One and Tier Two cities, cooperation agreements with big tourism players in China and participation in trade and consumer shows in China.
“Malaysia’s tourism sector contributes almost 15% of our gross domestic product and air connectivity is undoubtedly a key component,” Khairul said.
Others at the event were Capital A non-executive director Datuk Abdul Aziz Bakar, Penang Global Tourism chief executive officer Ooi Chok Yan, Malaysian Tourism director-general Datuk Dr Ammar Abd Ghapar, Tourism Malaysia International Promo-tions senior director Manoharan Periasamy, Tourism Malaysia northern region director Shahrul Aman and AirAsia northern region director Kenneth Tan.
Passengers were welcomed by a traditional dance group.
Ding said South-East Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam were popular destinations for Chinese tourists.
In the first half of this year, she said the total number of outbound tourists from the Chinese mainland (including those to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) reached 40.37 million.
This translates to about eight million individuals taking international flights.
“Malaysia has abundant and diversified tourism resources and has long been favoured by Chinese tourists,” said Ding.
“Hong Kong, with 7.4 million residents of different nationalities, is an important distribution centre and transit point for Chinese tourists travelling to neighbouring countries such as Malaysia.
“The resumption of AirAsia flights from Hong Kong to Penang will greatly facilitate people-to-people exchanges and promote cooperation in various fields, such as business and tourism.”
AirAsia will now fly three times a week between Hong Kong and Penang.
In addition to Hong Kong, the airline also flies direct from Penang to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Surabaya, Jakarta, Medan and Singapore.
