Guiyang welcomes first direct tourism route from Malaysia's Penang

A Malindo Air flight from Penang, Malaysia, landed at Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport, marking the official launch of the Guiyang–Penang tourism route. The inaugural flight carried 169 Malaysian tourists, who embarked on an eight-day and seven-night "Colorful Guizhou" in-depth tour.

The opening of this route further strengthens the "air bridge" between Guizhou province and Southeast Asia, injecting new momentum into cultural exchanges and tourism cooperation between the two regions.

With this addition, Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport now operates 13 international and regional routes. Previously, Malaysian travelers heading to Guizhou often had to transfer in cities such as Guangzhou or Kunming, taking more than 10 hours in total. With the new direct route, the flight time has been shortened to just four hours and 20 minutes, saving time and energy for travelers.

According to Zhou Houneng, president of the inbound tourism branch of the Guizhou Travel Agencies Association, this direct flight is a dedicated tourism charter route, with a total of 12 scheduled flights in its first phase – one flight per week – running until Dec 28. "Currently, inbound seat occupancy exceeds 75 percent and continues to rise," Zhou noted.

"The direct flight makes visiting Guizhou more convenient than ever," said Malaysian traveler surnamed Chua. "We've always heard about the beauty of Huangguoshu Waterfall and Xijiang Qianhu Miao village, but the trip used to be too complicated. Now that there's a direct flight, we signed up without hesitation. We're really looking forward to this journey. "

The trip includes some of Guizhou's most iconic natural and cultural attractions, such as Huangguoshu Waterfall, Asia's largest waterfall; Libo's Xiaoqikong scenic area, the emerald on the belt of the Earth; Xijiang Qianhu Miao village, the largest Miao settlement in the world; and Wanfenglin scenic spot, renowned as one of China's most beautiful peak forests.

The Malaysian tourists pose for a group photo at Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport. [Photo/ddcpc website]