Penang Grows As Premier Wedding, MICE Hub For South Indians, Eyes Kollywood Shoots

CHENNAI, March 5 (Bernama) -- Penang is quickly becoming a sought-after destination for weddings and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE), particularly attracting Indian visitors, especially from South India.

Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) chief executive officer Ashwin Gunasekaran said the state's appeal has been further boosted by the launch of a new direct flight route from Chennai to Penang by IndiGo Airlines, which began on Dec 21 last year.

“Destination weddings have a minimum of 250 packs onwards, so it's an ongoing request. Mostly on beach destinations as well as mainland hotel destinations, so all of this has been very positive.

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“The Indian tourists are from very new segments for us (Penang), mainly solo travellers, honeymooners, as well as family,” he told a press conference in conjunction with a media familiarisation trip to Chennai by the PCEB here on Tuesday.

Also present was PCEB Director Wong Yuee Harng, who is Pengkalan Kota assemblyman.

Ashwin also pointed out that Penang’s growing appeal as a MICE destination is also significant, with notable events like a yoga and wellness conference scheduled for April, followed by a conference expected to attract 500 participants from Tamil Nadu.

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He also noted that Penang's growing appeal for business and leisure events was also demonstrated earlier this year when the state hosted the 11th Global Organisation of Tamil Origin (GOTO) conference for the first time outside of Tamil Nadu on Jan 4 and 5, which saw the participation of 1,000 delegates from countries including Singapore, India and Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Ashwin said he is confident that The Pearl of Orient will also attract some Kollywood (Tamil movies industry) filmmakers to shoot their films in the state, with the availability of extra financial incentives under the Film In Malaysia Incentive (FIMI), National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas).

“I think one of the key reasons where it was a bit of a challenge for a filming to take place in Penang (before) was simply because of the lack of direct flight.

“Whenever we approach a particular director or producer, the issue of logistics, as well as transiting from Kuala Lumpur, then Kuala Lumpur into Penang, was always the challenge,” he said.

However, Ashwin said that with the IndiGo direct flight to Penang, a lot of filming conversations have been reactivated.

IndiGo launched a new direct route from Chennai to Penang starting Dec 21, which provides a comfortable flying experience with full-flat business class seats and in-flight entertainment systems.

Notably, Penang International Airport saw a 51.43 per cent increase in Indian tourist arrivals last year, underscoring the growing interest in this vibrant destination.

-- BERNAMA