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Shopping frenzy: A group of tourists
elated with their purchases
at M Mall in Penang Times Square.
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GEORGE TOWN: Thousands
of Chinese tourists, said to be members of MBI Group, were having a shopping
spree at M Mall in Penang Times Square.
The five-day shopping carnival
organised by the group saw the members spending their loyalty reward points at
the mall on groceries, household products and other items.
Among the crowd, business owner Li
Tie Zhu, 45, from Yingchuan, China, was spotted carrying shopping bags during
the carnival which would end on Tuesday.
Li said he used his MBI loyalty
reward points to exchange for goods at the mall.
“I bought mostly coffee. We will
definitely want to come again,” he said.
Another tourist, who wished to be
known as Shen, said shopping in Penang is appealing.
“Besides shopping, we also get to do
some sightseeing here as well,” she said.
Tour guide Gong Qingjie said his
group comprised some 30 tourists from the Heilongjiang province in China.
“In total, there’s probably around
200 from the province who are here,” he said.
He added that they arrived in
Malaysia on Thursday and would be going to Danok, Thailand, today.
The mall, set up by the company in
December 2015, sells various consumer products apart from featuring restaurants
and other service outlets.
The MBI members also attended their
awards night at SPICE Arena last night.
Many Penangites seemed to be aware of
the large influx of Chinese tourists coming in bus loads as messages on phone
chat groups telling friends to avoid the SPICE Arena and town area have gone
viral.
Many hotels, especially in the city,
are fully booked until early next week.
“This happened before. They bring
many family members along to visit Penang while the members attend the
company’s dinner and activities.
“Most of the hotels on the island
were fully booked.
“Their hotel bookings even went as
far as Ipoh,” said a hotel manager who declined to be name.
The company started in Penang and is
now headquartered in Kuala Lumpur.
-thestar online.
Dragons instead of stars bring Chinese Tourists to the door of Hotels and Restaurants
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