• Contact Us
• Testimonials
• Track Records
• International Properties
• Project Highlights
• Services
• Articles
• About Penang
• About us
• Home

  Email this to a friend

Taking Tourism to the Next Level

 GETTING HOLD of Penang Global Tourism's (PGT) new managing director Ooi Geok Ling is a challenge in itself. Getting through to her mobile is no problem; pinning her down in one location long enough to conduct an interview is another matter. Like an Energiser bunny, the woman just does not stop. When I finally managed to catch up with her on a public holiday, she had just spent the whole morning  showing two travel writers around Penang.

Ooi Geok Ling: "It's high time we stop promoting Penang Primarily as a sun, sea & sand destination. We're under-selling Penang if we resort to this old formula."

  To Ooi, being hands-on isall part of the job and, as she explained, taking on the role of tourist guide is something that came naturally to her."When my father retired from teaching he brushed up on his Japanese and became a full-time tourist guide. Following  him around, I realised what a passionate guide he was, he really knew his stuff and he was always bringing tourists home for cups of tea. I think they loved this personal touch and it made their time in Penang all the more memorable," she reminisced.

  After six months in the hot seat, Ooi is street-smart enough to know that she has mountain to climb, given the turbulent "co-operation" between the state and federal gobernemtns. In the  aftermath of the 2008 general election, the-then Tourism Minister Datuk Azalina Othman wasted little time sticking in the jackbooth by hastily terminating tourism memorandums of understanding with Pakatan Rakyat-ruled state governments (which at the time included Perak, Penang Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan). There were several repercussions for Penang; loss of federal funding meant that the largely successful World Music Festival was scrapped from the state's tourism calendar. More crucially, when the funds dried up, the Penang Tourism Action Council (PTAC), whcih is largely responsible for promoting Penang internationally, also stopped functioning.

  Effectively promoting Penang's tourism has always been high on the agenda of various state governments as the industry makes a substantial contribution to the local GDP (although actual official figures have yet to be collated). It is estimated that tourism workers make up about 10% of Penang's workforce. Prior to March 8, Penang's tourism had been overseen from the lofty heights of Komtar's 56th floor, Registering for a pass to that level meant either a visit to the state Exco office for Tourism, Arts and Culture, PTAC or Tourism Malaysia.

  As Ooi explained, "Many industry players attribute this  to the hard work of Datuk Kee Phaik Cheen (a previous state Exco for Tourism, Arts and Culture). To her credit, she set up this very neat, streamlined arrangement which meant that all the agencies promoting Penang were working in synch and had direct channels of communication. PGT was set up to take over the role of PTAC and promote Penang internationally, regionally and locally."

  The Challenge facing PGT is huge and the organisation has a tiny annual allocation of RM4mil (which goes towards marketing campaigns, prmotional materials, tourism trade exhibitions and operational expenses). Despite this Ooi is optimistic. "Penang is a great tourism product that is known globally. What we have to do now is leverage on our recent World Heritage Status to effectively promote George Town and Penan. There is no need for us to reinvent the wheel."

  Her first step has been to ensure that PGT functions like a private sector organisation with clearly  defined goals and objectives. "I want PGT tobe proactive in pulling together Penang's diverse tourism industry. we will act as a central point where ideas and information can be collated and effectively passed on. I think back to Datuk Kee's time, when she used to attract a lot of flak for her ideas. Whether people agreed with them or not, she always had passion for her job. That is undeniable I want PGT to have the same passion for Penang, Ieven regularly 'sell' Penang to my own staff to get them enthused so they can better sell to international industry players!" she said.

  One of Ooi's main goals is to build on George Town's World Heritage Status. "It's high time we stop promoting Penang primarily as a sun, sea and sand destination. We're under-selling Penang if we resort to this old formula. We've been handed a gift with the Unesco listing; now we need to explore ways to capitalise on this in a responsible (sustainable), planned manner. George Town is a gem of  a place because of its authencity so we have to be careful about making it tourist-friendly but not 'touristy'."

A shoemaker in Armenian Street

  Ooi recounted a recent experience she had with a foreign journalist whom she took around Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling (know unofficially as the "Street of Harmony"). "After about half and hour into my tour, which took us past St George's Church, the Kuan Yin temple, Mahamariamman temple and the Kapitan Keling mosque, the journalist turned to me and said,'Geok Ling, this is amazing! This is 1malaysia in real life!"

  "I thought to myself, this is how Penangites have lived for over 200 years. If I had to describe penang as a dish, I thinkg we're just like rojak. All the individual fruits and veges retain their individualism, and the rojak sauce brings everything together. This is what makes Penang so unique, our diversity and our pride in being Penangites."

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

St. George's Church

  On a more serious note, Ooi observed that the industry perception of Penang range from one out of 10, to 10 out of 10. "I've experienced some pretty extreme reactions from trade professionals who either love us or think we have a lot of work to do. I think truth is somewhere inbetween. We have rested on our laurels for some time now; I've actually spoken to some younger industry professionals and travellers who have never heard of Penang, but are aware of Langkawi and the various Thai islands. This wasn't the case in the 1970s and 1980s -  Penang was the place to visit in the Far East."

  Ooi's observation is sharedby PGT director marco Battistotti who is also chairman of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (Penang chapter) and the general manager of G Hotel. "MAH-P made a trip to Hong Kong in 2009 to promote Penang as a destination. It was interenting to observe how most people over 40 knew Penang but the younger generation didn't even know where it was on the map," he said.

  Although Battistotti felt that industry perception of Penang is sorely lacking at regional and international levels, the island remains a popular tourist detination, he stressed. Michael Saxon, the general manager of Penang's iconic E&O Hotel explained why: " Despite the fact that Penang's tourism industry hasn't come together  as a cohesive force to promote it as a whole, we get plenty of repeat visitors, which says a lot about the island's appeal." Accourding to Saxon, the current relity is that "while we have plenty of talented people within Penang's tourism industry, most of the time they're all doing their own thing. We need someone who brings together all the hoteliers, travel agents, tourist attraction operators to really push Penang!"

  Battistotti believes three key factors are reponsible for the resurgence in Penang's tourism arrivals since the slump of the late 1990s. One is the rise (and rise) of budget airlines, which has brought an increasingly large number of  independent travellers to the island. "Take the Penang-Singapore route, which has nine flights a day served by five airlines. Considering that there are close to one million Singaporeans with family ties in Penan, This is a large market we have direct access to."

  According to Battistotti, Penang International Airport is Malaysia's most profitable airport. "As Asean's middle class expands, people have a larger disposable income and are able to travel more often. Penang has strong regional air links with Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore making it  easier and easier for Asean tourists to come here."

  The recent redevelopment of the Swettenham Cruise Terminal has added an extra entry point to the island. In 2009, 680,000 cruise passengers stepped off in Penang. This year the port expects 890,000 visitors. "The average cruise passenger spends anywhere between US$85 (RM280) to us$115(RM350) a day when they come on land. That's not bad considering they are in Penang for less than 12 hours. Penang's the perfect destination for cruise passengers with limited time, the minute they step off the pier, they're already in a World Heritage Site," said Battistotti, The third factor that contributes to Penang's robust tourism sector is Tourism Malaysia's active 'courtship' of the Middle Eastern market.

  "In 2009 Penang experienced an increase of 34,000 room nights from Middle Eastern visitors compare to 2008. After Kuala Lumpur and Genting Highlands, Penang is next on their 'must-visit' list."

  But what about the island's much derided beaches, meter-less taxis and congested weekend traffic? These issues have been doing the rounds for decades and have frequently been highlighted in the local press as factors hindering Penang's tourism potential.

  Saxon looked like he was about to explode when I posed him the question. "Critics have been harping on these same issues for the six years I've been here. Are they say ing there isn't any dirt in Bali or Phuket, or that their traffic management is better than ours? Taxis in Bali don't use meters either. I think a little chaos is just part of Penang's character. Many island destinations in the region face the same challenges as Penang, I can't  deny that, but there is no point trying the change it into another Singapore - we'll just lose our charm. We have to look at the positive aspects of Penang and market them with out constantly dwelling on our weaknesses, which we don't seem to be able to solve so easily."              more

Source : Penang Economic Monthly. April 2010 Issue 4.10