Chinese social media influencers have been invited by Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa and Golden Sands Resort to promote Penang as a travel destination.

"We have assets in China, and we've been collaborating with their sales and marketing staff to sell Penang as a travel destination and raise awareness of our state there.

Suleiman Tunku Abdul Rahman, the resort's director of communications, stated that to make their stay more pleasant, "on our side, we are translating our pamphlets, directories, and menus to Chinese."

Suleiman claimed that although the numbers were not as high as in the pre-Covid-19 rush, there had been a minor increase in visitors from China and Japan.

He claimed that China still has limitations.

"Since daily direct flights between China and Malaysia began operating in March, we have noticed an increase in Chinese visitors to our resort. Although the increase is not as significant as anticipated, we anticipate an increase in the second quarter.

It has improved significantly, and we anticipate that it will keep rising, he said.

Suleiman stated that although there is still a need for more employees, the situation is not as terrible as it was the previous year.

More Japanese tourists have flown in since last month, according to Ong Hai Leong, general manager of Flamingo Hotel by the Beach.

Although there are reservations for the "Golden Week," the numbers are not as strong as in previous years. Chinese tourists visit us, but we need to do more to increase their numbers.

"This is probably because of things like fewer flights to Penang. We are aware of their desire to return to Penang.

"We provide carefully designed campaigns for visitors from various nations. We have many marketing initiatives for various nations.

Some guests are given a free upgrade to an additional night. A sea view room is upgraded for some people.

"We provide complimentary rooms for our Chinese and Japanese visitors who come in groups," According to Ong, the hotel is still having problems filling open positions.

"We still require personnel for the front desk, food and beverage service, and housekeeping. We are unable to hire foreign staff in these departments, he continued.

The decreased number of flights from China to Penang, according to Datuk Khoo Boo Lim,

attracting Chinese tourists.

"It's back, although not as many as before the pandemic. The old rush is probably not going to happen again, but hotel occupancy will undoubtedly rise.

"We notice a modest increase in traffic, but there are still no actual guests from China and Japan. This is most likely caused by a lack of direct flights.

Khoo claimed that the local labor force is largely to blame for the labor shortfall.

"We would want to employ locals, particularly when it comes to staffing the front desk and servers who would be interacting with visitors directly.

"There is a language barrier when hiring international personnel. Just that it is now difficult to hire locals because they have looked for work elsewhere," he continued.

Because of labor scarcity, hotels currently contract out their security and cleaning services, according to Khoo.