GEORGE TOWN, May 26 — Penang may be famous for the Unesco heritage city of George Town and the biosphere reserve up on Penang Hill but come June, hordes of visitors from all over South-east Asia and beyond will descend on the island state for its durians.

Between the months of late May and August, visitors from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore will be thronging the northern state to get their hands on the state's famed King of Fruits.

"It has long been established that Penang durians are among the best and anyone craving these delicious fruits, must come to Penang during June and July," said Association of Tourist Attractions Penang (ATAP) chairman Ch'ng Huck Theng.

He said the quality and taste of Penang durians have served as an attraction of its own to draw visitors from nearby countries to the state for many years.

"The tourism industry has been slow in the last two months so we hope that in two weeks' time, when durians are in season, we will be seeing more visitors," he said.

However, he warned that Penang should not be complacent about this reputation and that the state government must continue to promote Penang durians overseas.

"China and even Australia are now growing durians of their own so we must ensure we are ahead of the competition and promote our durians so that we become the top destination for durian tourism," he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang chapter chairman Datuk Tony Goh said the durian season along with the upcoming Malaysia and Singapore school holidays bode well for the tourism industry in Penang.

"We are already seeing locals from other states coming and visitors from China and Singapore will be coming too," he said.

He said occupancy rates among the big hotels are up to 70 per cent while for smaller hotels and beach hotels, the occupancy rates are up to 90 per cent.

Although this means revenue is up for the hotel industry, he said this is because room rates have gone up due to higher operating expenses.

"Some hotels are seeing between 15 to 20 per cent increase in revenue but this is still lower than the revenue and occupancy rates recorded before the pandemic," he said.

He hoped that with the upcoming holidays, various special durian packages on offer and the introduction of more direct flights to Penang, the number of tourists will increase this year.

"We used to get busloads of tourists coming to Penang but now, what we get are small groups of families and friends but this is still three times more than the previous year's numbers," he said.

Recently, state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee Chairman Wong Hon Wai launched the start of Penang's durian season.

"This year, we will see three waves of durian harvest, from now to early June, this will be followed by a break of about two weeks, and the second wave will be from mid-June to July and the final wave is expected from August to September," he said.

He said the state government has come up with a pamphlet on durians with a list of durian stalls, farms and estates in the state.

"We will be distributing the pamphlets at ITB China next week and talking to travel agencies there," he said.

ITB China is a travel trade show in Shanghai.

He said the pamphlets will also be distributed during other tourism trade shows overseas to promote Penang’s durians.

He said Juneyao Airlines will start flying direct from Shanghai to Penang starting May 31 with four flights a week before extending it to daily flights.

"I was told that the first flight is almost full and with this new direct flight route, we can expect to see more Chinese tourists coming in," he said.

Hotels, tour agencies and other attractions in Penang are also banking on the durian season by offering durian season deals between May and September.

Hotels like Angsana Teluk Bahang Penang, DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel, St Giles Wembley Penang and Cititel Express are offering durian buffet packages at selected durian stalls.

Tour agencies are offering durian tour packages while various businesses are also offering durian treats such as durian popcorn, Musang King products and desserts.