7,000 tourists from five cruise ships flood George Town

GEORGE TOWN: The historic city of George Town was flooded with tourists after five cruise ships carrying some 7,000 passengers made a one day port call here today.

The ships arrived as early as 8am with disembarking passengers crowding the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal at Weld Quay here.

Cruise ships Diamond Princess, Mein Schiff 1, Superstar Gemini, Star Clipper, and Leisure World took turns at the terminal as tourists piled out to eagerly start their sightseeing.

Rows of tour buses, taxis and trishaws were waiting outside the terminal to pick up the visitors while Jalan Padang Kota Lama and Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah were closed to facilitate traffic flow.

Penang Port Commission chairman Tan Teik Cheng said George Town was a popular cruise destination as the disembarkation point was near to the historic city.

“Visitors can walk to the popular destinations easily, that is why more and more cruises are visiting Penang,” he said.

Tan said a further three cruise ships will be arriving in Penang on March 17 with some 4,700 visitors and Penang is estimated to attract two million tourists by 2018.

To further develop tourism infrastructure, Tan said the PCC will be calling for a request for proposal (RFP) to revive the Penang Yacht Club (PYC).

“We will choose the most suitable proposal and a 12-year-lease will be awarded to the company chosen,” he said, and added that the RFP will be open from March 27 to May 15.