THE Penang Tourism Forum 2019 held at the Universiti Sains Malaysia gave the participants the opportunity to learn from local and foreign speakers on sustainability, smart tourism destination, conservation of heritage, policy and governance among others.
State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee (Petach) chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said the forum was a good platform for exchanging of views among academia, researchers, consultants, NGOs, tourism players and students on issues pertaining to tourism growth and direction.
“While promoting engagement within the industry, it is important for us to learn the best practices from the case study across the region.
“Participants can learn from the perspective of our invited speakers and experts from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and of course our local Penangites,” he said when he officiated the programme held at USM on Nov 9.
Also present were director of YZP Planning & Consultant, Prof Yuzaini Damanhuri and Penang Tourism Forum 2019 chairman Prof Bada Mohamed.
Some of the panellists who were to share their views were Vin Lim (Digital Driven Transformation in Tourism), Therdchai Choibamroong (directions of Thai Tourism – Plans, Policy & Governance), Nyoman Darma Putra (Conversation of Heritage and Culture- The Case of Bali, Indonesia), Saiful Nang (Digital Marketing in Tourism) and Le Anh Van (Sustainable Business Models in Vietnam).
“This forum is a part of the approach to compliment the methodical steps taken by the state government to prepare the Penang Tourism Master Plan.
“Among the major trusts that we have identified for this master plan are ensuring sustainable tourism, diversification of tourism product and positioning Penang as the tourism hub and turning the city to be the next leading destination of the region.
“In this modern era, the trend in the tourism industry keeps changing and we need to be able to move along with it,” he stressed.
Story & pix by Danny Ooi