Proactive Measures Needed for Penang Tourism

According to Business Times report, tourism industry in Penang Island - the Pearl of the Orient - will only shine when proactive measures are taken to address various chronic issues, says international real estate consultant Jones Lang Wootton (JLW).

According to JLW senior vice-president and head of research David Jarnell, growth rate for foreign tourist arrivals in Malaysia is 8.8 per cent per year over the last six years from 2002 to 2008. However the growth for Penang was only 3.6 per cent per year during the same period.

In 2000, the majority of hotel guests on the island were foreigners. However, the trend reversed in 2004 and since then the majority of guests has been domestic. Between 2000 and 2008, domestic guests at hotels in Penang increased by 13.9 per cent per year to 3.5 million in 2008 as the local leisure and meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition market grew. This compares with just a 2.1 per cent growth per year to 2.8 million in foreign hotel guests in 2008.

Jones Lang Wootton (JLW) executive director Malathi Thevendran said that being conferred the World Heritage Site by Unesco, Penang should be accompanied by aggressive promotion and marketing activities.

She expects that projects such as the eco-tourism resort and a Penang "Darling Harbour" coupled with several new hotels including the Hard Rock Hotel will augur well for Penang's hotel industry as the brand will help to promote awareness of Penang and position the island as a popular and growing international resort.