Penang’s tourism sector hopeful, eyes fresh spark in 2024

TOURISM is expected to reign stronger in Penang for the coming new year due to the state’s extensive marketing outreach in tapping both the leisure and business travel segments.

As the world counted down to the end of 2023 and welcomed 2024 with hope and optimism, there was much to revel about the past year, especially in terms of hotels enjoying brisk business – a sign that tourism is returning to full force.

As the hospitality business fares well, its players also give back to the community.

For example, there is G Hotel’s commitment to the spirit of giving and caring during the festive Christmas period, no matter how challenging life can be.

Recently, the hotel hosted for the 15th consecutive year its “Make A Wish” campaign where guests and corporate clients were encouraged to donate to towards the purchase of gifts for the underprivileged children of the Salvation Home here.

“Good or bad, Covid-19 or no Covid, we continue to support the less privileged,” said the hotel’s director of communications, Christina Tan Soh Ann.

Tan beamed with pride at how the guests and even neighbours of the hotel along Gurney Drive, have warmed up to the proposition of buying simple gifts for the children.

Some 60 residents of the home were feted to a sumptuous tea buffet and gifts, with the hotel’s long-serving general manager Michael Hanratty also on hand to greet the young guests.

Over at Batu Ferringhi, the oldest resort in the country, the Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa, is hosting a photography exhibition in conjunction with its 50th anniversary celebrations. The establishment was founded in 1973.

Its assistant communications manager Fiona Lee said the photos show the various eras in resort’s history, including the general managers of the five-star property.

Rasa Sayang is a household name in the Penang hospitality scene.

After it was purchased by Malaysia’s richest man Tan Sri Robert Kuok, the resort has grown from strength to strength in terms of its international appeal.

Lee said that the exhibition is open for viewing at the resort’s lounge near the west wing and it is tastefully done to demonstrate the resilience of tourism in Penang.

Recovery from effects of pandemic

The Penang chapter chairman of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Datuk Tony Goh sees 2024 as providing a fresh step for tourism to fully recover from Covid-19.

He said that the recent resurgence of the virus is a reminder that public healthcare must always be given the attention is requires.

Goh hopes that the average occupancy rate can go higher. At the same time, there is an urgent need to attract the young to work in the hospitality line, and to engage foreign workers and interns.

The push for a progressive wage system among local employers by the national unity government may spur higher wages among hotel staffers, he added.

Welfare group Penang Hindu Association president P. Murugiah claimed that there is now a shortage of face masks in the commercial market, saying that government hospitals and clinics must be supplied with adequate masks so they can disseminate these to patients.

He also urged for a better publicity campaign to counter the misinformation about Covid-19, as it can cause panic among the people and affect tourism.

Events and gatherings to give boost

Penang’s meeting, incentives, convention and exhibition (MICE) scene has also expanded, courtesy of the efforts undertaken by the state’s Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) in actively wooing the international market to hold events in Penang.

Business events and conferences are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels with the estimated economic impact to reach RM1 billion in 2023.

PCEB chief executive officer Ashwin Gunasekeran said the last time Penang crossed the RM1 billion value was in 2019, adding that the business events sector was poised to grow further in 2020 if not for the pandemic.

The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) will be busy in 2024, as it marks the George Town’s 50th anniversary celebrations of its sister city status with Adelaide (South Australia).

Mayor and council president Datuk A. Rajendran hopes that the celebrations can spark more tourism arrivals and generate greater awareness about Penang.

On a lighter note, the alumni body of the nation’s second oldest school alumni, the Old Xavierians Association (OXA), will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in the new year. Their alma mater St Xavier’s Institution will also be hosting a regional marching band competition next year, which can also galvanise the tourism scene here. – The Vibes, January 1, 2024