The key official at the festival was Dato' Zainol Abidin Omar, Deputy Chairman, Tourism Malaysia representing Honorable Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia, who gave a remarks over the opening of Street of Penang Malaysia among VIPs, the press and numerous visitors witnessed at the function.
Dato' Zainol Abidin Omar, Deputy Chairman, Tourism Malaysia representing Honorable Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia stated his positive outlook on outbound tourism from Thailand to Malaysia.
"Malaysia has many things to offer, from shopping destinations, theme parks, resorts, to unique cultural attractions. Tourism Malaysia continues to use the theme 'Malaysia Truly Asia' to be promoted along with #ThaiPaiMalaysia (ไทยไปมาเลเซีย) to encourage Thai tourists to mark Malaysia as a preferred holiday destination for family and friends," says Dato' Zainol Abidin Omar.
For 2017, from January to October, Malaysia received 1.53 million tourists from Thailand reflecting an increase of 4.2 percent compared to the same period in 2016. For 2018, the target is set of 1.9 million tourist arrivals from Thailand.
On this occasion, Dato' Zainol Abidin Omar, Deputy Chairman, Tourism Malaysia representing Honorable Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia also shared the grand tourism campaign, 'Visit Malaysia Year 2020', which aims to draw worldwide tourists to visit Malaysia as well as Penang where it was named 2nd top tourist destination among 17 best places to visit in 2017 by CNN.
Penang is a rich blend of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Peranakan and European influences. Heritage is not only found in museums but can be found living and along the city just like George Town's UNESCO World Heritage. Penang is singled out for its arts and cuisine among other factors. Similarly, Bangkok and Penang are acknowledged as having one of Asia's best street foods.
Street of Penang Malaysia has been held during 9-18 February 2018 at Seacon Bangkae Shopping Complex. The showcase is created to simulate the charming ambiance of George Town and other signature attractions of Penang including street arts, food, souvenirs and lifestyle.
The main objective of the event is to further promote Penang and Malaysia Tourism extensively in Thailand and also to strengthen the relationship between Thailand and Malaysia as friendly neighbors.
MALAYSIA TOURISM PROMOTION BOARD OR TOURISM MALAYSIA is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Malaysia. It focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination. Since its inception, it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene. In 2016, Malaysia registered 26.8 million tourist arrivals and RM82.1 billion in receipts, placing it among the major tourism destinations of the world.