Promote sustainable tourism among locals first: MAH

GEORGE TOWN: Penang needs to rope in all stakeholders if it wants to promote sustainable tourism effectively following a spell of natural disasters, which had affected tourism in the past two months.

The stakeholders should be the state’s civil society, community leaders, associations and the business communities besides the manufacturers, said the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) chief executive officer Yap Lip Seng.

Penang has suffered from a misperception issue due to claims that the state has ignored public pleas on protecting the environment following incidents involving floods, landslides and erosion.

Yap said one of the points raised at the international forum on urban tourism was that sustainable tourism must first be practised by local residents before it can be marketed as a product to foreign tourists.

“If we do not care and take pride in the environment, how can we convince foreigners that we are adopting eco-friendly policies?

“Sustainable tourism is not just about mother nature but also on preservation and conservation policies, as well as the participation of the majority of stakeholders in the public and private sectors,” Yap said.

While the state authorities should be praised for their quick action in making the state a tourist attraction again after the Nov 4 and Nov 5 floods, Yap said it is more important to carry out programmes that can prevent a recurrence. “MAH is concerned about the prevention of natural disasters as it could ruin tourism if they happen often.”

In another development, the Malaysian Association of Tours and Travel Agents Penang chapter chairman Dexter Chuah said he was confident Penang was on track to record a high number of tourists despite the recent floods. Last year, Penang recorded about six million arrivals and Chuah is optimistic that the figure would increase this year.

His view was echoed by Penang Tourism and Culture committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang, who underlined that tourism was not drastically affected although there may be gaps in tourist arrivals because some may have differed their trips due to the calamities. – by Ian McIntyre