Penang travel trade plans aggressive marketing to woo tourists

GEORGE TOWN: Penang will come out with an aggressive marketing campaign to lure back tourists after losing close to 6,000 room nights worth RM3 million in the past four weeks due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

While the economic stimulus package is welcomed, Penang chapter of the Malaysian Association of Hotels’ chairman Khoo Boo Lim said there is a need to inject confidence into the consumer market.

The campaign will be divided into two parts – one to cater for foreign tourists and another on domestic travellers.

Khoo said this in an interview after attending a meeting with the state tourism authority Global Tourism Sdn Bhd.

He said that all travel trade players, namely in tourism landmarks, hotels and restaurants, were urged to come out with discounted packages to be sold to outbound travel agents to market overseas.

It will be the best bargain in years for Penang where prices of its famed street food and reputable restaurants, as well as accommodation would be revised to bargain rates, he said.

Khoo noted that the travel agents will try to entice traditional and new markets but they would temporary refrained from marketing in nations hit hard by the deadly virus which have taken the lives of over 2,000 people worldwide.

“Hotels here lost almost RM3 million in Penang after a spate of cancellations tore through the hospitality industry here.”

There are also reports of postponements or cancellations in the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions area.

Some hotels have begun to ask their staff to stay home, while some were encouraging their workers to take leave following a drop in occupancy rates.

Khoo said the domestic tourism package will be tailored to the state with a campaign name called “Penang–Lang”, whereby Penang residents with the state identity cards can be entitled to more discounts at the hotels and restaurants here.

“We need to spark activities back into tourism and we were asked to come out with a varied form of discounts and incentives to encourage people to travel.”