GEORGE TOWN – The Penang government has decided to stretch further its Chinese New Year celebration with the annual Chingay parade, which is accompanied by lion and dragon dance troupes – now slated to be held next month instead of February 5.
State executive councillor for tourism and creative economy, Yeoh Soon Hin, said that the event, which is acclaimed as Penang’s unique heritage, will now be held on March 11.
“By hosting the Penang Chingay Parade on March 11, it will attract more visitors due to the school holidays. This will also help to better preserve the local culture among younger generations,” Yeoh explained in a statement.
He said that the parade will start from Padang Brown, and the group will move through Dato Keramat Road, Penang Road, Transfer Road, Sri Bahari Road, Chulia Street, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, up till the main stage at the Padang Kota Lama at Light Street.
“On March 11, there will be exhilarating Chingay performances and cultural performances of various ethnic groups at the parade, making it one of the main festivals of Penang tourism.”
The procession was originally postponed from January 1 to this Sunday. However, it was deferred again due to the convergence of two other major festivals, Thaipusam and Chap Goh Meh on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) vice-president Khoo Boo Lim said that the state needs to help bring in direct flights and find new strategies to maintain the momentum from the strong rebound in tourism.
“As more people flock for vacations after some three years of lockdowns and indecisive policies, there is a need for Penang to do things differently,” said Khoo.
Direct flights are the next step to boost arrivals here but it is not easy, as airliners need to negotiate with all segments of tourism to bring in the desired load of passengers, said Khoo in an interview.
“There is hope that Penang can clinch direct flight deals soon and we appreciate the commitment by the airliners. Passengers would prefer direct flights so they need not have to transit in many locations.”
Khoo also said that with the national unity government in place, there should not be much dispute in tourism policies.
“If everyone is on the same page, we can promote tourism better. We must learn to devise strategies different from our rivals such as Thailand and Singapore. We need to do things differently and uniquely.”
He noted that rival regions seemed to have edged Malaysia out in terms of tourist arrivals, but there is hope since the country has many experience travel trade specialists who can assist if they were called upon.
Khoo said he hopes that there will be more international events to attract tourists besides luring investors to pour into the capital for new attractions. – The Vibes, February 2, 2023
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