MEDIA STATEMENT BY YB YEOH SOON HIN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
29 July 2019
POSITIONING PENANG AS LEADING BUSINESS EVENTS AND TRAVEL DESTINATION IN ASIA PACIFIC
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang State Government is committed in developing Penang’s business events to position Penang as the leading business events and travel destination in Asia Pacific.
“Business events are crucial for the economy and the development of Penang because the industry has the potential to go beyond just bringing in more quality tourists to the state,” said YB Yeoh Soon Hin, the Penang State Exco for Tourism Development, Arts, Culture & Heritage (PETACH).
Penang successfully hosted over 200 international meetings with 106,265 delegates from across the globe in 2018. With a convention capacity of 30,000 and 14,389 rated hotel rooms, Penang is among the leading destinations in the region for corporate meetings & incentives and a rising association meetings destination.
At the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Malaysia Chapter’s Inter-State Tourism Networking Session held recently at Hotel Equatorial Penang, YB Yeoh Soon Hin said the networking session which is hosted by Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) and Hotel Equatorial Penang is an excellent platform for tourism and trade participants from outside Penang to meet up and interact with the tourism partners from Penang.
Yeoh wished that following the networking session, more exposure and opportunities could be opened up for tourism players to foster closer business relationships and enhance business opportunities with those outside the state and country. He said this is especially important with the recent launching of Experience Penang Year 2020 (EPY2020) Campaign with the tagline ‘The Diversity of Asia’ to usher in the excitement of Visit Malaysia 2020.
“The inspiration behind this campaign is the current trend within the travel industry: Experiential Travel. It has become the key word in the dictionary of millennials and travellers to document their experiences on social media. This is an effort in line with PETACH’s 4R initiatives to restructure, rebrand, remarket and reposition Penang’s tourism industry to greater heights.”
“As Penang regards the tourism sector as an important engine for growth and economic development, we would need constantly be one step ahead in adapting to the changes within the tourism industry. We must always be open to innovation and be knowledge-driven to always maintain relevant in this industry.”
Penang is a great melting pot of culture and heritage all within one state. Though Penang has received many accolades and recognitions throughout the years, with the latest addition of Penang as one of the great value beach destinations in the world to visit or live in which is “pocket-friendly” by global standards.
“We appreciate PATA effort to complement the initiatives of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Tourism Malaysia in developing the country’s tourism and raising the standards of professionalism within the industry through specific programmes and look forward to more being hosted in Penang to spur Penang tourism growth further internationally.”
“I believe that with the right efforts, we are able to further entice visitors and tourists to make Penang their must-visit or must-return destination within the Asia Pacific region”, said Yeoh.
Also present were Mr Kamaruddin Baharin, Vice Chairman of PATA (Malaysia Chapter), Mr Jonathan Freddy P. Bagang, Director of Ministry of Tourism & Culture Malaysia (MOTAC), Mr Khoo Boo Lim, Chairman of Malaysian Association of Hotels Penang Chapter, Mr Ashwin Gunasekeran, CEO of Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB), Mr Ooi Chok Yan, CEO of Penang Global Tourism (PGT) as well as industry partners from Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
槟州行政议员杨顺兴于 2019 年 7 月 29 日发表告：
州政府将致力推广槟城为亚太区商务活动首选目的地
（槟城29日讯）槟城州政府将继续致力发展商务活动，将槟城定位为亚太地区商务活动和会议旅游的首选目的地。
槟州旅游发展、艺术、文化及遗产委员会（PETACH）主席杨顺兴认为，会展活动对于槟城经济与发展至关重要，尤其将可为槟城带来更多高素质的游客。
2018年，槟城成功举办了200多场国际会议，共获得来自全球各地的106,265名代表出席。拥有3万人的会展中心容纳量以及14,389间酒店客房，槟城是本地区举办会展活动、会奖旅游和国际性协会会议的主要目的地之一。
杨顺兴是于较早前出席亚太旅游协会（PATA）马来西亚分会的交流会上致词时，如是指出。有关交流会由槟城会展局主办，旨在提供外州旅游业者代表与槟城旅业者代表交流和互动的平台。
他希望，有关交流会可帮助促进槟城州内与国内外旅游业者的业务关系，并为旅游业者提供更多业务机会。
“这对于我们近期推介的2020年体验槟城旅游年（EPY2020）尤其重要，此 2020年槟城旅游年推广运动，是为配合马来西亚2020旅游年而推出的活动，主题为“体验槟城，缤纷亚洲”。“
“体验槟城的灵感，主要源于旅游业目前的趋势：体验旅游。“体验旅游”已成为千禧世代和游客词典中的关键词，将他们在旅途中的体验记录在社交媒体上，这也是PETACH在重组、重塑、 重新推广、重新定位的4R方向，以将槟城的旅游业推向另一个高峰。“
“槟城旅游业被视为经济发展及增长的重要引擎，我们需要领先一步适应旅游领域的变化，对创新秉持开放与求知态度，才能有效的保持相关性。“
槟城是一个文化和遗产的大熔炉，多年来获得了许多国际性的荣誉和认可，最近更被列“世界十大最具价值海滩胜地”之一。
“亚太旅游协会致力配合马来西亚旅游、艺术和文化部及马来西亚旅游部发展国内旅游领域，并通过各种项目提高旅游领域的专业水平，槟州政府非常赞赏，同时也希望更多项目能在槟城举办，这将有助于刺激槟城旅游领域的发展。”
“相信通过正确的方法及管道，我们能够进一步吸引游客，让槟城成为游客在亚太地区内的必到或必重游目的地。“
是日出席有关交流会的还包括亚太旅游协会（PATA）马来西亚分会副会长Kamaruddin Baharin、马来西亚旅游、艺术和文化部槟城办事处主任Jonathan Freddy P. Bagang、马来西亚酒店协会槟城分会主席邱武林、槟城会展局（PCEB）首席执行员Ashwin Gunasekeran、槟城环球旅游机构（PGT）首席执行员黄茁原，以及槟城和吉隆坡的旅游业者。
