Chennai 29th September 2022 : The Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) has embarked on a preliminary promotional trip to India in the city of Chennai with the aim to reconnect and revive the tourism and business events industry in Penang and India through press conferences and networking night. In the last few days, the Bureau had also visited Mumbai as part of their promotional trip.
The Preliminary Promotional Trip to India was essential for demonstrating the market readiness in India. Some of the Indian local airlines, have expressed interest in expanding into Penang after attending PCEB’s annual roadshow last year. Following the interest, the PCEB team together with YB Yeoh Soon Hin, the State Executive Councillor for Tourism & Creative Economy had a meeting with few airlines to discuss direct flights opportunities to Penang from key cities in India. It is essential to maintain marketing momentum in order to keep airlines enthusiastic about the Penang-India link.
“The efforts to ensure tourism is sustainable was taken well into consideration by incorporating the idea of Responsible Tourism into the travel and tourism sector post pandemic. Penang is the first state in Malaysia to launch a well-designed SOS safety APP, making Penang once again the trendsetter in Malaysia’s tourism environment. With your support, we can restore travellers’ confidence to visit Penang and ensure that it remains a top destination for people from all over the world”, said Yeoh Soon Hin.
“PCEB’s dedication has not wavered, and our team is dedicated to fostering mutually beneficial relationships and working closely with the Indian community. The establishment of a direct flight between India and Penang is one of the primary topics of conversation at the moment. We are already in discussion with airlines both in India and in Malaysia about the possibility of establishing additional direct flight routes between Penang and key cities in India,” said Ashwin Gunasekaran, the Chief Executive Officer of Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau.
India, the largest country in South Asia has been one of the top 5 visitors to Malaysia for a decade and shows no sign of hitting the brakes. India’s outbound tourism market is only second to China’s. With the Indian market being a key focus area for the bureau, PCEB is also planning their annual roadshow that will focus on four cities in India in the month of February 2023. The dates will be announced very soon and potential cities targeted are Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad. During the roadshow, there will also be the introduction of a special marketing campaign curated for the Indian market.