GEORGE TOWN, Nov 22 — Tourist arrivals in Penang jumped by 138.37 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
Tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai told the Penang Legislative Assembly today that the state recorded 1,682,094 in total tourist arrivals for the first six months of 2023 alone.
In comparison, a total 705,670 tourist arrivals were recorded for the same period last year.
“We also saw more direct flights to Penang this year such as to Xiamen by Xiamen Airlines, to Doha by Qatar Airlines and to Bangkok by Firefly,” he said in reply to backbencher Berapit assemblyman Heng Lee Lee who asked for the figures.
Wong said more direct flights will be introduced in the near future.
“Flydubai Airlines has announced the introduction of direct flight to Dubai in February next year,” he said.
In his motion of thanks to Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak’s speech later, Wong said Penang recorded a total of 5.59 million tourists in 2022 compared to 4.26 million in 2021.
