Less than a month to go before WiT Indie kicks off in Penang on March 13, and fireworks have exploded over the new Penang Tourism Master Plan that was presented a week ago, with criticisms ranging from it not meeting the needs of industry and travellers to “building more when we should be solving problems”.
Following the presentation by YZD Planning and Consult chief consultant Prof Badaruddin Mohamed, Ooi Geok Ling, co-founder of WiT Indie, was quoted in the local media as saying, “You talk about revitalising alternative tourism and yet I see micro projects of building this or that structure when there is no proof that building more things will bring in more tourists.”
According to the report, “the new master plan calls for 104 initiatives, including physical projects and programmes. The proposals include developing space for a Penang tourist night market selling local products, a wellness and aesthetics resort enclave, a theme park, a Penang Grand Bazaar, an Aqua Zoo, a six-star spa, a Penang arts and culture enclave, a Penang Legend Sports and Entertainment City, a Tanjung Performing Arts and Cultural Extravaganza and many more. The proposed projects are scattered all over the state, ranging from Balik Pulau to George Town on the island and from Butterworth to Batu Kawan on the mainland”.
The master plan comes at a time when Penang’s tourism industry is facing challenges, even without taking the current Covid-19 virus crisis into consideration. Looking at Penang International Airport statistics, between 2007 and 2019, the highest number of foreign arrivals was 717,714 in 2014; that dipped to 553,100 in 2017. Last year’s tally of 669,679 therefore is just creeping back to the 2015 level of 681,126.
As with all secondary destinations, Penang’s international tourism fate relies on air links. The drop in foreign arrivals is cause for concern as the island seeks to define and differentiate itself, 12 years after it got its UNESCO World Heritage listing. With that halo waning, its street food culture becoming more commonplace and its beaches losing appeal, clearly the new master plan was an attempt to revitalise the industry.
But industry practitioners say that doesn’t mean building more when there were myriad problems to be fixed on the ground. For example, the lack of proper data to better understand who were the travellers visiting Penang was cited as a fundamental problem to be fixed. Plus, there are lots of physical and natural assets already there, that could be cleaned up, conserved and protected for a more sustainable future in which the key word has become “repurposing” not “building”.
Nardya Wray, owner of luxury boutique hotel, Campbell House, said she was disappointed that as a 10-year-old property since the UNESCO listing it was not even consulted in the plan, which “is not addressing the needs of the travellers or operators or optimising what Penang has to offer”.
She added, “I do not think the plan addresses a sustainable outlook for the future, as it is based on large investments and more development rather than utilising the amazing culture and natural resources we currently have.”
She said basic needs are not being met – such as public toilets, safe pedestrian walkways, carparks, shuttle services – so why build more? “Numbers have dropped for Batu Ferringhi, but what has the state done to find out the decline? It is clear to everyone that lives here that Batu Ferringhi needs a clean-up, the night market is an eyesore, you cannot walk on the pavement, the beaches are dirty, the sea is dirty, there are no initiatives to clean up the stalls or the activities offered on the beach. The state preaches about being green but what does that actually mean?”
Wray who attended the meeting said, “What was definitely clear from the meeting is that Penang has a great history, a diverse culture and everyone wants to promote this but in a greener and more sustainable way. Nobody wants to see more unnecessary development.”
One thrust of the plan was to develop Smart Travel, which Wray questioned, “We have no steady internet service in Georgetown, how can hotels develop Smart initiatives?”
On her part, Ooi, who used to be the CEO of Penang Global Tourism, said developing smart tourism did not necessarily mean creating a new portal or an app, just like developing tourism doesn’t mean building more structures. “Going digital can mean putting the time of bus arrivals on Google map, it can be as simple as that, we don’t need another app because this means we have to market the app,” she was quoted as saying.
Eric Chong, owner of Penang Green Acres, and corporate trainer turned farmer, said the biggest opportunity was to promote “natural Penang as opposed to man-made Penang”.
“Focus on our natural heritage of the hills, nature parks, mangroves, cottage industries,” he said.
Penang’s strength lies in “small tourist business operators which offer niche experiences” and these operators need help to get discovered by travellers online. “I would like to see a reputable web savvy person or company take up the opportunity to vet these small timers and help them get known. It would also help visitors to Penang look for all the niche experiences and not fall prey to false advertisements.”
Francois Sigrist, general manager of the Lone Pine Hotel, said, “Penang needs to improve its infrastructure in touristic areas such as pedestrian paths to be safe and practical to everyone. It needs to limit and control the expansion of real estate in touristic areas like in Batu Ferringhi and question what is really needed or missing to add value to the place.”
He added that the big challenge for Penang is to have a vision of where it wants to be 10 or 30 years down the road – “to do things faster and to be innovative”.
“I always look at Singapore, a similar size island which had nothing and now a country on its own, constantly reinventing itself year on year. Penang needs to be bold. The biggest opportunity for Penang is its location, affordability, rich culture, variety and food offerings. Not discounting its new government which needs to prove itself.”
Added Wray, “Most of the stakeholders and Industry players actually want the same thing, a sustainable future and a true identity of Penang, I think before this plan is implemented, real data, and real discussions with people working in the industry and of course real visitor feedback should take place.”
While the intention to have a masterplan was much lauded by those interviewed, many stakeholders had missed the presentation and have requested for the draft to be made public so that they can contribute their thoughts within the given two-week period before the masterplan is finalised.
• WiT Indie 2020, to be held at the Penang Institute, will provide a timely forum for feedback on the Master Plan as well as share some data analysis on direct foreign arrivals to Penang. Programme here. Sign up here.