Penang Convention & Exhibition
Bureau (PCEB) is pleased to announce the appointment of Alfa Destination
Marketing Private Limited as its representation firm in India to manage travel
trade strategy, public relations and industry alignment across both
countries.
India is proven to be a strong market
for Penang and is one of the top five markets for Business Events in Penang. Over
the past year, Penang has received encouraging interest from event planners and
conference organisers. In 2017, 13% of Business Events of Asia Pacific origin
was from India, contributing RM190 million or USD 46 million. In 2018, Penang’s
largest Business Event – V-CON 2018 – which saw a participation of 16,000
delegates from around the world reported that 80% of their delegates were from
India. The number of Indian travellers flying into Penang has also increased
in recent years. The Penang Immigration Department reported that for the period
between Jan to Nov 2018, 7,250 Indian travellers flew into the Penang
International Airport, compared to 6,569 in the same period in 2017. The 10.37%
increase came despite there not being direct flights between Penang and India.
To further attract the
Indian outbound meetings and conference market, PCEB has introduced attractive
support packages specially tailored for India.
PCEB recently held the 2nd sales and
media mission in India with partners from the Penang meeting with over 1000
travel trade contacts and media across 4 cities; Chennai, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and
New Delhi.
"We are so pleased and excited to
add Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau to our existing client portfolio.
Alfa’s focus will be to align and enhance the ‘Experiences Unfiltered’ campaign
under PCEB through cooperative strategies with key wholesale, airline and trade
partners, as well as increase awareness with key media stakeholders in India.
Ultimately, this will increase the length of stay and contribute to grow the
number of Indian visitors to Penang," commented Kapil Pant, Director, Alfa
Destinations Marketing Private Limited.
With an estimated RM685 million in development
revenue in 2018 and more than 700 hotel rooms in the pipeline, there are many
new ways for Indian families to experience the state.
"We are proud to appoint Alfa
Representatives in continuing our marketing and promotional efforts in India
and its subcontinent markets. With their expertise of over 23 years, we look
forward to welcoming more businesses from this segment to Penang," said
Ashwin Gunasekeran, Chief Executive Officer for Penang Convention &
Exhibition Bureau.