THE growth of the Penang tourism sector is expected to reach new heights within the next few years, Penang Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai projected.
Wong said the sector has experienced a V-shaped recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I envision that the sector will achieve new heights within the next few years. The indicators are showing that our tourism sector is healthy and getting stronger.
“New hotels are being set up in the state, while those that were previously shut during the pandemic are also reopening. The hotel industry is expanding, and this is a good sign that tourism in Penang is growing stronger.
“The cruise industry is also recovering. The cruises are coming back.
“The expansion of the Penang International Airport (PIA) will begin soon to accommodate more visitors to the state,” Wong told Buletin Mutiara at his office in Komtar on Aug 23.
Wong also touched on medical tourism. Penang remains an important hub for medical tourism in the Southeast Asia region.
Moving on to conference and convention tourism, Wong said Penang has hosted many international conferences, conventions, and expos over the years.
“We have modern and purpose-built convention centres to cater to the needs of our industry. Currently, Penang has the Setia SPICE Convention Centre, the SP Arena, and the Penang International Convention Cultural & Arts Centre (PICCA) @ Butterworth Arena. Soon, the state will also house the Penang Waterfront Convention Centre (PWCC).
“From my meeting with the Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB), the bureau said that it is scheduling its events up to as far as 2031 now,” Wong said.
He added that Penang is blessed with two Unesco listings – the George Town Unesco World Heritage Site and the Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve.
“These accolades are also a drawing force to attract tourists to Penang, besides the uniqueness of Penang’s street food which is a tourist magnet.
“Throughout the year, the state celebrates various festivals, programmes, and events to promote harmony and cultural understanding.
“Among the many festivals are George Town Festival, George Town Literary Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Penang International Food Festival, and Penang Hill Festival.
“There are also many places of interest for people to explore in Seberang Perai and Penang island,” he said.
Wong said the state, tourism industry players and the creative community must continue to engage with one another to introduce more impactful tourism products.
“The tourism product does not have to be costly to be impactful. Take a mural as an example, it is cost-efficient and yet it draws people from around the world to Penang,” Wong said, before giving some examples of several famous murals in Penang.
Wong, who was a computer science graduate from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), took an interest in politics after following the political ceramahs when he was 17 years old.
“I grew up at the Rifle Range flats and I could hear the ceramahs below our unit. That was back in 1990.
“That piqued my interest to know more about politics. In university, most of my close friends were from the field of social science.
“I remembered calling Kuala Lumpur DAP to ask if I could observe the debate in Parliament from the public gallery.
“Because of my interest in politics, I joined the party in 1997 when I was 24 years old.
“I was also the candidate agent for (current Chief Minister) Chow Kon Yeow, who was then contesting the Tanjong parliamentary and Padang Kota state seat back in 1999,” Wong recalled.
Before becoming a candidate, Wong worked as an information technology (IT) engineer in a multinational corporation in Bayan Lepas for several years. While working as an IT engineer, he studied Bachelor of Jurisprudence at Universiti Malaya and graduated in 2004. Wong obtained his Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) in 2005.
Wong contested and won the Air Itam seat in 2008 and 2013. He also won the Bukit Bendera parliamentary seat in 2018. In the recently concluded state election, Wong won the Paya Terubong seat with a 36,802 majority against Perikatan Nasional’s Andrew Ooi.
He was the Penang Town and Country Planning, Housing and Arts Committee chairman from 2008 to 2013; and is currently the state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman.
“If I must choose a word to describe my character, it would be ‘resilience’.
“Life is a long journey and is full of ups and downs. Resilience is needed to ensure that we can withstand and recover quickly from difficulties.
“It is important that we do not give up. We learn from our failures and strive to do better. Adapt and be flexible,” he said.
Wong equated life’s journey with running a marathon.
He also urged the younger generation to keep on learning and gain new experience.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Alissala Thian