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BUTTERWORTH – As the country’s borders are about to reopen, travel industry players in Penang have been urged to cooperate with each other to reclaim the state’s position as among the top destinations in the region, following rumblings of discontent among the fraternity here.
State Tourism Executive Councillor Yeoh Soon Hin said that the travel community must shore up their bonds and work collectively towards promoting tourism while casting aside factions and egos.
“We should all be united and strengthen our bonds among hoteliers and other tourism players.
“We are working towards achieving common goals for the betterment of the state generally and in tourism specifically,” he said when attending the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang chapter’s annual general meeting at The Light Hotel here earlier this week.
Yeoh spoke on how there would be intense competition for the tourist dollar because the world is now gradually reopening after close to three years of lockdowns, as countries ease from the battle against Covid-19.
Yeoh also urged the travel trade here to be prepared for the reopening of the borders next month by adhering to the standard operating procedures and working hard to market the state.
Despite reopening for domestic tourism, a few prominent hotels such as Hotel Royal Penang and Hotel Equatorial, which was the biggest, remain closed down.
It is learnt that there is dissatisfaction on how tourism is being revived here due to the intermittent pace as domestic visitors continue to be cautious about the virus, while even though there is a rebound, it is not at the dangerous levels seen before during the height of the pandemic.
Among both travel agencies and hotels, there are differences over how best to handle the pandemic, which has brought along a host of issues from an acute shortage of workers to long periods of sick leave when employees contract Covid-19 or when they are listed as close contacts.
Recently, trishaw peddlers were unhappy over alleged lack of help from the state, as there are hardly any bookings for their services of late.
Meanwhile, the MAH Penang chapter has a new chairman in Tony Goh who manages The Wembley-St Giles Hotel and the Cititel Express Penang here.
His two deputies are Ben Ho (Lexis Suites Penang) and Kevin Cheah (Iconic Hotel), while the honorary secretary is John Kim (Mei Hotel) and treasurer is Dennis Lee (Royale Chulan Penang).
The committee members comprise of Dennis Cheng (Jazz Hotel), Amran Taib (Royal Hotel), Melvin Ooi (Prestige Hotel), Steven Suffian (Hompton Beach Hotel Penang) Datuk TH Lim (Tien Hotel Group) and Punitha Mary (Travelodge Penang), while the Internal auditor is Lynne Choong (Bayview Hotel Georgetown) – The Vibes, March 25, 2022
