GEORGE TOWN: The state has seen more than double the amount of tourists in the first half of this year, with a 138% increase over the same period in 2022, says Wong Hon Wai.
The state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman said this information comes from the Penang International Airport (PIA).
"The number of tourists for the first half of 2023 stood at 1,682,094 people compared to the first half of 2022, where the number of tourists recorded was 705,670 people.
"This shows a more than double increase in the number of people coming to Penang this year," he said, responding to a question posed by Heng Lee Lee (PH-Berapit), who asked for an update on data on tourists visiting Penang in the first half of 2023 at the state legislative assembly on Wednesday (Nov 22).
Heng asked if there was an increase or decrease in tourists compared to 2022.
Wong shared that based on the data provided by PIA, the most number of visitors came from Indonesia making up 163,187 of the visitors, followed by Singapore with 74,800 and China with 15,602 tourists.
Wong then shared that through state efforts, there are now more direct flights to Penang.
"In efforts to improve the tourism industry, positive developments can be seen with an increase in direct flights to Penang, which include Xiamen Airlines (Xiamen to Penang), Qatar Airlines (Doha to Penang) and Firefly (Bangkok to Penang).
"These direct flights are an important aspect to increase the number of tourists to our state.
"More destinations and flight options will help attract tourists from various countries back to Penang.
"FlyDubai Airlines has announced the start of direct flights from Dubai to Penang in February 2024 as well," he said.
