AFTER a 14-year hiatus, AirAsia successfully reinstated its direct flight route connecting Hong Kong and Penang.
The joyous occasion was marked by a water salute as AirAsia AK2280 touched down at the Penang International Airport today at about 2.55pm.
Passengers received a heartwarming reception from dignitaries, including Tourism, Arts and Culture Deputy Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, caretaker Penang state exco for Tourism and Creative Economy Yeoh Soon Hin and Chinese vice consul-general in Penang Madam Ding Qiao.
Other attendees included Capital A non-executive director Datuk Abdul Aziz Bakar, Penang Gobal Tourism chief executive officer Ooi Chok Yan, Malaysian Tourism director-general Datuk Dr Ammar Abd Ghapar, Tourism Malaysian International Promotion senior director Manoharan Periasamy, Tourism Malaysia northern region director Shahrul Aman and AirAsia Northern Region director Kenneth Tan.
A traditional dance group, with the women adorned in colourful attire and bearing playcards, and the men armed with kompang, enlivened the ceremony with vibrant energy.
Yeoh, who has been nominated to be the Penang Port Commission chairman, expressed gratitude towards AirAsia for their relentless efforts in reestablishing the direct flight route.
He said Hong Kong has long been a hub of commerce and innovation that Penang must connect with.
“Hong Kong’s strategic location at the heart of Asia makes it an ideal gateway for exploring not only its own market but also the vast mainland China market.
“In order to reach a larger segment of the crowd, my team also advertised the beauty of Penang on Hong Kong’s iconic trams,” Yeoh said.
Over the past five years, Yeoh has worked constantly to forge direct air links between Penang and major global cities.
He said he had identified 12 cities for direct flights, namely Abu Dhabi (UAE), Dubai (UAE), Doha (Qatar), Chennai/Mumbai (India), Shanghai (China), Shenzhen (China), Beijing (China), Chengdu (China), Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (S. Korea), Istanbul (Turkiye) and Sydney (Australia) and he hoped his successor would continue these pursuits.
Khairul Firdaus, reading from a text on behalf of Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, said Malaysia’s tourism goal for the year is 15.6 million tourist arrivals with RM47.6 billion in tourism receipts.
To achieve that outcome, he said Penang’s tourism sector would play a pivotal role.
Out of this figure, he said Malaysia aims to attract five million visitors from China.
Several initiatives are planned under Tourism Malaysia, including 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 this year.
“Malaysia’s tourism sector plays a pivotal role in contributing to almost 15% of our nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and air connectivity is undoubtedly a major player. The specific impact on our tourism numbers will be determined by consumer confidence, travel restrictions, flight capacity, government policies, and the global economic situation,” Khairul Firdaus said.
Ding Qiao said Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam are popular destinations for Chinese tourists.
In the first half of this year, she noted that the total number of outbound tourists from the Chinese mainland (including those to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) reached 40.37 million. Among them, 20.11% chose to venture abroad, which translates to approximately eight million individuals undertaking international journeys, primarily concentrated in Asian destinations.
“Malaysia, especially northern Malaysia, has abundant and diversified tourism resources and has long been favoured by Chinese tourists.
“Hong Kong, with 7.4 million residents of different nationalities, is also an important distribution center and transit point for Chinese tourists travelling to neighboring countries such as Malaysia.
“The resumption of AirAsia direct flights from Hong Kong to Penang will greatly facilitate the people-to-people exchanges, and will promote practical cooperation between them in various fields such as business and tourism,” Ding Qiao said.
With the resumption, AirAsia flies thrice weekly between Hong Kong and Penang. In addition to Hong Kong, it also flies direct international routes from Penang to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Surabaya, Jakarta, Medan, and Singapore.
Story and pix by K.H. Ong