PENANG to maintain the 6.3 million tourist arrivals

PENANG should be able to maintain the 6.3 million tourist arrivals it recorded last year for 2009, according to Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang chapter president Marco Battistotti.

He said the arrivals should mainly be from other Malaysian states, countries in the region and the Middle East.

“Although there is a slight drop in arrivals from the Middle East due to the coming Ramadan, we expect this to pick up in September after the fasting month,” Battistotti said.

“The period after Ramadan is still considered a holiday season in the Middle East. We believe many will take leave to travel.

“Thus, tourist arrivals to Pe-nang will be supported by the Middle East market in the third quarter.”

He said there was a slight drop of 3.5% in Penang’s hotel occupancy rate in the first six months of the year compared to the corresponding period last year.

He, however, said the occupancy rate for hotels in the Tanjung Bungah and the Batu Ferringhi belt was 3% higher than last year for the six-month period while there was about a 5% decline in the occupancy rate for hotels in George Town.

In 2007, Penang recorded 5.2 million tourist arrivals according to statistics from the Tourism Ministry.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government had established the Penang Global Tourism Sdn Bhd as the state’s vehicle to drive tourism.

“It aims at securing commitments from the Federal Government in tourism projects for Penang and working with local tourism players to improve the basic infrastructure,” he said in a statement.

“The expected commencement of the upgrading of the Penang Hill funicular train in the next few months by the Federal Government with an expanded budget from RM40mil to RM60mil is a positive sign of how the federal and state governments can work together for the benefit of the people.”

AirAsia Announces New Penang-Hong Kong Route

KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) — AirAsia on Monday announced a new service from Penang to Hong Kong starting July 31 as part of the budget carrier’s plan to establish Penang as its eighth hub.

According to the airline, the service is timely and will be well received by many as it has great advantage due to its extensive route network and low fares.

AirAsia is also increasing its second frequency to Singapore from Penang to cater to the demand from leisure and business travellers.

The new sector to Hong Kong and the introduction of second frequency to Singapore opens for sale for the booking period from July 7 to 12 for the travel period from July 31, 2009, to April 30, 2010.

AirAsia said in a statement today that it will be offering an all-in-fare from RM99 to Hong Kong and RM51 to Singapore to mark the launch of these sectors.

The airline, through its holiday division GoHoliday, is offering guests free rooms upon booking at its partner hotels in Hong Kong.

The promotion is valid via goholiday.airasia.com and available on a first come, first served basis.

“At a time when some airlines are cutting routes and downsizing capacity, we are breaking the trend with our aggressive expansion plans, increasing frequencies where there is proven demand, which certainly is for the Penang-Hong Kong and Penang-Singapore routes,” said the airline’s regional head of commercial, Kathleen Tan.

“We are also hoping to introduce new sectors to Shenzen and Guangzhou from Penang in the future,” she said.

Tan said the Hong Kong route formed part of AirAsia’s strategy to establish Kuala Lumpur as a gateway to other Asian destinations.

The airline’s relationship with its long-haul affiliate AsiaAsia X will also connect traffic from Australia and the United Kingdom to the Chinese cities, she said.

–BERNAMA

Koh wants Lim to fulfill his promise to residents

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon wants Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to meet the promise he made to the residents of Kampung Buah Pala in Penang.

He said Lim must find his own solution to the problem because he and his party, the DAP, had promised the residents there that if the opposition succeeded in taking over the administration of Penang from the Barisan Nasional (BN), the residents would not have to move out.

“I just want to clarify, whoever makes the promise, he must find the ultimate way to fulfill the promise.

“It is not fair because I’m not the one who makes the promises, why do I have to find the solutions? Be fair!” he told reporters at the Senate lobby, here today.

He said the issue must be resolved by the appropriate person and he was not the one who should solve the problem.

“Lots of people give them support especially the Indian community there before and during the election, and why when they win, they want to turn around?” Koh said.

Koh also said that he was not angry with Lim but regretted the attitude of the state government under his leadership which was not determined to fulfill the promise made to the residents of the village in the general election last year.

The Kampung Buah Pala crisis started when the residents had to move out after the Federal Court dismissed their appeal to remain on the land which they had occupied for so long to enable the developers to proceed with their project.

However, the residents refused to move out and pleaded with the state government to help them in resolving the problem.

The problem came to a deadlock when the Penang government under Lim’s leadership admitted that it could not afford to take over the land in the village from a cooperative and the developer to enable the 23 families affected to continue living there as the cost was exorbitant, and sought federal government help.

However yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the federal government would not interfere in the issue as the matter had to be tackled and resolved by the Penang state government.

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July 7th Declared as Public Holiday in Penang

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Government will declare July 7 as a state public holiday beginning next year in commemoration of the date George Town received the Unesco World Heritage Site status.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng announced this Tuesday when launching the month-long anniversary celebrations at the century-old Town Hall here.

“George Town and Malacca’s joint listing as a Unesco World Heritage Site not only brings honour to the state but also makes our city the heritage of all mankind.

“In the state’s commitment to preserve the listing, I have taken the suggestion of some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and will declare July 7 as the George Town Unesco World Heritage Day as a public holiday to create awareness and education on heritage issues,” Lim said.

He added that the theme of this year’s anniversary celebrations was One Heritage to symbolise the importance of collective awareness to preserve, protect and promote George Town’s heritage.

On a related matter, Lim appealed to the Federal Government to release the state’s share of the RM50mil allocated to the Malacca and George Town in Budget 2009 for conservation work.

“Our plan for the types of conservation work to be undertaken has already been submitted by the Penang Municipal Council to the National Heritage Department in April.

“We hope the Federal Government will assure us of the RM25mil allocation that was promised,” he said.

Lim later launched the commemorative George Town Heritage Passport that features 26 significant heritage sites in the city.

The Penang Heritage Trust council member Timothy Tye said the dark brown souvenir booklet could be purchased at RM8 at the PHT office on Church Street.

He said during the state’s grand anniversary celebrations on July 25, passport holders could visit 12 of the sites in the passport to rubber stamp the booklet in unique stamps.

He said the stamps for the remaining sites could be obtained at the PHT office.

The participating sites are the Syed Alatas Mansion, Sun Yat Sen’s Penang Base, Meng Eng Soo Temple, Kapitan Keling Mosque, Goddess of Mercy Temple, St George’s Church, Arulmigu Mahamariamman Temple, Teochew Ancestral Temple, Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple, Cheah Kongsi, Acheen Street Mosque and Khoo Kongsi.