Penang saw heavy tourist traffic during the National Day and school holidays, with attractions, hotels and popular food spots drawing large crowds.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang continues to be a popular tourist destination during the long weekend including the National Day which ended on Monday and the school holidays the next Sunday, with the state’s tourist hotspots and famous food locations crowded with visitors.
Tourist hotspots, eateries and famous restaurants were also filled with customers, including nasi kandar restaurants, with some even willing to queue up just to enjoy the famous food in Penang.
Penang Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said a total of 29,200 visitors were recorded riding the funicular train to Penang Hill in the four days from August 28 to 31.
“The total recorded 4,300 visitors on August 28, 7,300 (August 29), 9,400 (August 30) and 8,200 visitors on August 31.
“Among the locations that are also the focus of tourists are the Penang State Museum, Fort Cornwallis and Penang Hill, for example, the Penang State Museum recorded 3,677 visitors on Saturday, 5,178 on Sunday and 4,217 on Monday,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.
He said the lively atmosphere was also driven by the 69th National Day celebration, in addition to the school holidays which start from August 29 to September 6, thus giving people the opportunity to bring their families on holiday in Penang.
Wong said that apart from the tourist attraction locations, the George Town urban area, Batu Ferringhi and famous food premises especially nasi kandar, char keow teow and laksa as well as cendol were also among the locations that had heavy customer traffic.
A Bernama survey found that the state remains a preferred tourist destination, and since last Saturday, the main roads in the city centre up to the beach area in Batu Ferringhi in particular, have been congested with vehicles.
The survey also found that nasi kandar shops on Jalan Gurdwara and Jalan Datuk Keramat as well as cendol and air sarbat on Jalan Penang here have been the focus of tourists since the morning, with visitors willing to queue up long to enjoy them.
Tourists were seen visiting popular locations including Bukit Bendera, Armenian Street, Batu Ferringhi, Padang Kota and Chew Jetty, a waterfront settlement.
A visitor, Muhammad Azrai Abu Bakar, 42, said he and his family chose to come to Penang to Bukit Bendera and Batu Ferringhi because they wanted to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the area.
He said that despite having to queue up long to buy tickets and ride the funicular railway, he and the family is still satisfied.
“We came with two families with my sister’s (family) from Perak, we are very happy because this is the first time they can ride the Bukit Bendera funicular train and actually the ‘bonus’ when coming to this state is the delicious food, especially the various choices of nasi kandar and pasembor,” he said, who was willing to queue up for a long time to enjoy nasi kandar at Jalan Gurdwara.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Hotel Association (MAH) Penang chairman Datuk Tony Goh said most hotels in the Batu Ferringhi area recorded an occupancy rate of more than 90 per cent throughout the long weekend and next weekend.
He said hotels in busy areas such as the George Town city centre recorded an occupancy rate of 80 percent and above last weekend and this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“It was the highest last weekend because of the long holiday until Monday, coupled with the National Day celebration, however for yesterday until Thursday, which is during the school holidays, the hotel occupancy rate is still good at 60 to 80 per cent,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
According to him, apart from hotels, some Visitors also choose to stay in homestays, especially those who come with their families during this school holiday period because Penang’s attractions are not only focused on beaches, heritage and tourist locations, but the variety of food is also one of the main reasons tourists choose the state.
The excitement is clearly visible when local and foreign visitors fill the main attraction areas, while taking the opportunity to enjoy food, explore heritage locations and capture memories throughout the holiday.
With a combination of heritage attractions, nature, beaches and food, Penang continues to offer various options for visitors to spend time with their families, especially during the school holiday and public holiday season.
