PARKROYAL PENANG RESORT RELAUNCHING
Speech by Chief Minister of Penang
At Parkroyal Penang Resort Relaunching
1 February 2018
Ladies and gentlemen
I am very happy to be here today. I am delighted to be part of PARKROYAL Penang Resort’s celebration of its transformation. Congratulations to you, Greg and Edward, and to all the associates of the resort. With the relaunch of PARKROYAL Penang. I believe that we have also elevated the industry standards to a new level.
The staff of PARKROYAL Penang Resort shared with me that the resort has a history of almost 30 years, having opened its doors in December 1990. Over the years, the resort upgraded itself, with the most major renovation done in 2003. The latest transformation is its biggest to date. It took about a year and a total investment of MYR55million. I also understand that PARKROYAL Penang Resort will be the flagship resort under the PARKROYAL brand.
On behalf of the Penang state, I would like to express my appreciation to the resort’s management company, Pan Pacific Hotels Group, for your continued support towards Penang as one of the leading destinations for business travellers and holiday makers.
Congratulations on a stellar track record with being listed on the Penang Green Office Project Certification with Aqua Save Certification by Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang since 2014, and thank you for supporting the Penang Green Council’s vision for Penang to be recognised as a Green State.
As a sports enthusiast and cyclist myself, I am an ardent supporter of “Campaign For A Lane”, an annual campaign organised by G Glub Penang Cyclists, our state encourages Penangites to commute on bicycles. So far, PARKROYAL Penang Resort has been one of the most active sponsors to support this campaign.
Tourism and hotel sector, one of the state's economic main contributors, is doing very well each year. More visitors were recorded and Penang has been getting international accolades and recognition, putting the state in world map. Passengers arrivals at the Penang International Airport hit 5.5 million passengers in between January to September 2017, an increase of 8.6% compared to the same period in 2016. In year 2016, the airport recorded a total of 6.7 million passengers or 200,000 passengers, exceeding the airport’s maximum capacity of 6.5 million, the number projected to reach in year 2020. Once the final number is tallied, it is expected that Penang InternationalAirport would record an all time high of 7.2 million passengers in 2017.
On 6 February, more international flights would be landing in Penang too, thanks to the new route by Qatar Airways, connecting Penang and Doha. This makes Penang as the second Malaysian destination for the award-winning airline, after the airline launched the service to Malaysia through KLIA in December 2001. Qatar Airways will fly three times a week between Doha and Penang with its state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which features 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class, with spacious cabins and specially-designed interiors.
Meanwhile, the occupancy rate of hotels in Penang also improved to about 70% in 2017 for members of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH, Penang Chapter), compared to 63% in 2016, driven largely by domestic tourism.
With that, congratulations once again to you, and I wish all of you at PARKROYAL Penang Resort and Pan Pacific Hotels Group continued success.
Thank you.