Press Statement by YB Danny Law Heng Kiang, Exco of the Penang State Tourism Development & Culture.
VisitPenang Year 2010-2012 is a three year campaign for all tourism industrial players, the hotels and travel agents to enable them to come up with travel packages in advance for tourists all over the world to come to Penang. A year is too short a time to promote Penang to all the other countries, therefore three years is an ideal period to create more attractive packages and to effectively allow better response in tourists visits to Penang.
Yesterday's soft launch of VisitPenang Year 2010-2012 marks the beginning of a month-long celebration held in conjunction with George Town's UNESCO CELEBRATION MONTH in July 2009 which celebrates the first anniversary of George town being ignited as the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. An ongoing series of events and activities from 1st to 26th July 2009 on all cultural and heritage to Penang will be held in celebration of this glorious month.
Be entertained by what Penang has to offer you for the whole month from local cultural performances to handicraft exhibitions, Chingay & dragon boat competitions, the St. Anne's Feast, and the much awaited annual Bon Odori Festival which will give you an insight to the reasons behind the popularity of George Town, Penang.
July would not be the only month where Penang would be buzzing with activities and programs for local and international tourists. In fact, plans are already in motion for a weekly cultural show to be held at the Esplanade every Saturday night starting from August until the end of the year. By doing this, it allows both tourists as well as locals to have some form of night cultural entertainment suitable for family and friends during the weekends. This activity would best attract those who would enjoy the diverse culture of Penang. With the support of the community and if the response prove to be very positive, we hope to make it a daily affair! With that, hopefully in a year's time this cultural show will become an international cultural show for all to experience.
Among the proud titles of Penang includes being honored one of the top Asian Islands in Travel and Leisure's 2008 World's Best Awards and selected as the No.2 choice by readers recommendation in the New York Times, “Best Places to Go in 2009”.
To all Penangites - be proud and grateful of your heritage as it is one of uniqueness and distinctiveness. Here in Penang, we are of colourful multi-racial culture, we own beautiful historical heritage and we serve lip-smacking delicious food which is well known all around the world. What we have is admired by others therefore together we must cherish and value what we have and we must celebrate and rejoice in the uniqueness of our multicultural heritage. Thank you and let us celebrate all that Penang has to offer!
The Soft Launch of the VisitPenang Year 2010-2012 on 1st July 2009 was held at the Esplanade with the performing arts featuring traditional dance performances by the Penang Cultural Council, Temple of Fine Arts and Spring Production & Art Studios who will be showcasing the unique culture and traditions of Penang right here at the Esplanade.
A total of 60 dancers from Penang's 3 elite dance troupes performed 90-minutes of non-stop fast-paced cultural shows including - a Bollywood dance! A perfect presentation of Penang's melting-pot culture of Malay, Chinese and Indian performances which concluded with a mass Joget session - a traditional malay dance - for all at the open concert at the Esplanade.
Last Updated on Thursday, 02 July 2009 17:15
Jetstar takes off to Penang
Written by Administrator II
Thursday, 02 July 2009 04:06
Press Statement By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Penang International Airport On 1.7.2009:
I am pleased to be here to welcome Jetstar’s inaugural flight to Penang. Penang is Jetstar’s 17th destination and the 4th Malaysian city Jetstar flies to. Beginning with a flight a day, the Penang State Government is happy to note that the frequency will be increased to twice daily by 1st October 2009.
As of today, we have 42 Singapore-Penang flights weekly, with Singapore Airlines 7, SilkAir 14, Malaysia Airlines 7, Air Asia 7 and Jetstar 7. From 1st October 2009, Jetstar service on the Singapore-Penang route will then further expand to double daily to 14 times weekly; bringing Singapore-Penang to a total of 49 flights weekly. Come next March, the government has given the green light for carriers to increase to 84 times weekly. With the increase in flight frequency between the two cities, we look forward to better collaboration and opportunities in the future.
Tourists from Singapore contributes 14% in international arrival through Penang International Airport and Port Swettenham in 2008, the second largest group after our neighboring country, Indonesia which contributes to 38.7% of the arrival. After deducting the maids and workers from Indonesia, Singaporeans contribute the bigger portion of our tourist arrival in Penang. With the increasing number of flights to connect both cities, I believe that the number of Singaporeans arriving will further increase in the near future in spite of the H1N1 outbreak in the region.
According to Tourism Malaysia (updated as at 11 Feb 2009), Singapore tourists recorded almost 50% of the total arrival of tourists into Malaysia for 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Singapore tourist arrivals to Malaysia was 11,003,492 and in 2007 was 10,492,692. The contribution made by Singaporeans to Malaysia’s and Penang’s tourism industry is tremendous and we will have to put in more effort in attracting tourists from Singapore.
We welcome Jetstar’s offer of 80,000 free seats to Singaporeans to visit Penang and other Malaysian destinations in celebration of your service launch. The low-fare budget offer will further enhance our effort here. The “zero distance” created from cheap direct flights between two cities will benefit both.
That is why the Penang Government has decided to set up a “Penang Investment and Tourism Office” in Singapore soon. Penang will be the first state in Malaysia to set up an office overseas as a reflection of the growing economy ties between Singapore to Penang.
We look forward to attract more investors to invest in Penang as Singapore is one of our major contributors in terms of investment. As at March 2009, Singapore investments rank number 3 in Penang, totaling RM23,485,430. Penang’s investment from Singapore improved last year after the new government took power in March 2008, amounting to RM258,216,705, almost six times increase compared to 2007 (RM42,277,280).
With Jetstar’s Singapore-Penang Inaugural Flight beginning from 1 July 2009, we believe it will increase the number of tourists arriving Penang and attract more investor from Singapore to Penang.
Chingay is originated from China, and the Penang Chinese first performed Chingay in 1899 during deity processions. It is a street art where the performer balances a giant flag that ranges from 25 ft to 32 ft in height and about 60 pounds in weight.
Over the years, the local Chinese has been improvising the Chingay performance. From a basic giant flag balancing by a solo performer, Chingay has developed to a team performance that consists of more than 15 persons in a troupe. Today, Chingay is not only performed by the Chinese, but the art has successfully attracted the Malays and Indians. It has become a very unique multiracial performance. The popularity of CHINGAY in Penang in particular, has also made it one of the very interesting cultural landmarks as well as an important tourist attraction.
The Penang State Government would like to highlight this true art of Penang which has more than 100 years of history. The Penang Chingay performers have been challenging the complexity in Chingay performance. What we see today, is beyond the balancing of the giant flag, but a fusion of acrobatic and balancing stunts. It is now a form of acro-balance performance.
The Penang State Government would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the all Chingay performers, especially to the Penang Chingay Association, North Malaysia Chingay Association and Butterworth Chingay Association. They have continued this hundred-year-old art in this century. For decades, they have been pushing their limits to create more interesting stunts to spice up the Chingay performance. They have flourished the art, performed not only locally but internationally, and make it a national performance that all of us are proud of. They have revolutionized Chingay.
Thanks to them, we are proud to say that, Chingay has become our very own local art today.
