GEORGE TOWN, Jan 2 – Penang will place emphasis on domestic tourism in the first half of 2021, focusing on family-oriented vacations, eco-tourism and creative cultural tourism to revive the State’s tourism industry and stimulate the growth of local economy, said Penang State Executive Councillor for Tourism and Creative Economy (PETACE) YB Yeoh Soon Hin. Yeoh said this is necessary to sustain the industry and fill in the void from international travel which remains uncertain due to the pandemic. 

Despite the challenges in reviving the tourism industry in 2021, he remains hopeful in working towards achieving a v-shaped recovery and rebound when the vaccine is publicly accessible and applicable. He added that his plan for this year is to focus on the revival of tourism and creative economy industries and spur Penang’s economic development under the new normal. “Other than short-term emergency measures, we also need to continuously refine our tourism crisis management plan as well as strategies, taking a step ahead to proactively prepare for forthcoming challenges.”
“Although the Covid-19 pandemic has strong impacts on the global tourism industry, we observed that this does not diminish people’s desire for travel and tourism. In order to tap into this, many nations are now formulating strategies and tailoring plans to prepare for its revival and transformation.” He further added that PETACE and Penang Global Tourism are also planning a campaign to introduce tourism activities through collaboration with industry players and stakeholders, adding that the details of the campaign will be announced soon when ready. 
In Yeoh’s new year message as Penang ushers in 2021, he said he will develop relevant strategies for the creative economy aligned with United Nations’ declaration of 2021 as the year of International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. “Creative economy has huge potential in stimulating economic development. We will be launching a series of creative economy activities next year to encourage aspiring Penangites to step forward and unleash their creativity and innovation,”
Yeoh also added that although the creative economy is a considerably large industry, he will launch these initiatives according to the masterplan.  The Covid-19 pandemic undoubtedly has drastic effects on the tourism industry. Many nations are working towards reviving its tourism industry in order to stimulate economic growth. International travel is still an obstacle so long as the pandemic is not under control globally. Hence, it is important for us to look at domestic tourism not only as a short-term measure, but an effort to be promoted in long term to build industry resilience and sustainability.
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