PENANG Hill Corporation has described the methodology employed by USA Today in labelling Penang Hill as a ‘tourist trap’ as a grossly inaccurate and flawed analysis, says its general manager Datuk Cheok Lay Leng.
In a statement released today, Cheok said the analysis was based solely on reviews from a single platform and it does not capture the majority with a positive experience on the hill.
Cheok was responding to an article by World of Buzz dated Sept 26, 2023, and an article by USA Today “Top 100 Biggest Tourist Traps Worldwide” dated Aug 24, 2023.
The USA Today article ranked Penang Hill as the ninth among the world’s top 100 ‘tourist trap’ attractions, making it the first in Asia, and the second most over-rated tourist attraction.
USA Today claimed that its rankings were based on the analysis of 23.2 million Google reviews of 500 popular tourist attractions worldwide, spanning 65 countries across six continents, all conducted in July 2023.
They examined mentions of specific keywords like ‘tourist trap’, ‘expensive’ and ‘overrated’ to categorise attractions into three main groups.
“The mentioned negative reviews were picked from Google reviews. Upon investigation, some of the Google reviews, by the said writers in July 2023, were stated over 5 years ago. During the said period, PHC has welcomed over 5 million visitors, including during the Covid-pandemic period.
“The article relied on reviews from only one source, which is the Google reviews platform and from a pool of 3,737 reviews (until July 2023). As per the authors, only 21 out of 3,737 reviews think it is a tourist trap (0.56%) and 6 out of 3,737 reviews (0.16%) said it’s overrated.
“It is a small sample size and an inaccurate representation of 3,737 over 5 million visitors to Penang Hill during the 5-year period of the review.
“To amplify a small number of reviews (0.7% from 3,737 of the total Google reviews out of the 5 million visitors) and list Penang Hill as a top attraction worldwide in a negative light is misleading, with intentions best known to the authors themselves.
“While we respect the opinions of individual visitors, we believe it is crucial to view such assessments in the context of our wider visitor base, to stay objective, unbiased, and accurate,” Cheok explained.
He acknowledged that every visitor’s experience is unique, and they value all feedback, whether positive or negative.
Penang Hill has welcomed visitors for over 100 years, attracting an average of over 1.5 million tourists annually in recent years, each with diverse preferences and expectations.
Like any popular tourist destination around the world, Penang Hill experiences longer queues during school holidays, weekends and public holidays.
Cheok always advises visitors to arrive early to avoid long queues and plan their trips in advance to maximise their experience at this must-visit destination in Penang, riding up the hill on the third-generation funicular along the century-year-old railway.
While the said article was written by a credit card team, he said PHC is open to criticisms and encourages fair assessments and analyses from all media sources.
Cheok added that although PHC may not be able to meet every visitor’s expectation, it will continue to enhance the amenities and facilities to bring a richer and unique experience to the Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve through various family and nature-oriented activities.
“We are constantly upgrading our amenities to enhance the comfort and experience of our visitors. We are working on improvement plans and cable car installation as one of the enhancements to be installed on the hill to address traffic and enhance visitors’ comfort. The cable car system will help to balance visitors and traffic congestion as well as the funicular system itself for increased reliability, safety and system operational lifespan,” he said.
State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said USA Today conducted poor research, considering only about two dozen bad reviews but not the many other good reviews about Penang Hill.
In a statement yesterday, Wong said there have been nearly 50 million visitors to Penang Hill ever since the funicular railway began in 1923, with many repeat visitors.
“This shows that they are attracted to the hill’s charm. The number of visitors speaks for itself,” he said.
Buletin Mutiara contacted a few others for their comments on this issue.
Tony Goh, the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang chapter chairman, said they have never received a single complaint from hotel tourists in the state about Penang Hill being a ‘tourist trap.’
He said he did not know the methodology used by USA Today for the research, but as far as he is concerned, Penang Hill has been recognised by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve under the Man and Biosphere Programme.
He believes the views are very subjective as every visitor has different expectations and travel experiences.
“To me, Penang Hill lives to what they have promoted. This is not an exaggeration. So, we cannot say they are over-commercialised, over this, or over that.
“And I think there are still many people who enjoy the rides up there. Not too big an area, it allows families to spend some quality time, and enjoy the view, the historical buildings, ecological diversity and the rainforest.
“You cannot go to the seaside and complain of the hot sun.
“I don’t agree with what they are saying. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It depends on the experience everyone is looking for,” Goh said.
If food is considered expensive in Penang Hill, Goh said different locations have different prices. But in general, he said that being a widely travelled person, he finds food at Penang airport and other Malaysian airports is still one of the cheapest in the world.
“Where can you get teh tarik, roti canai and nasi lemak so cheaply?” Goh said.
Datuk Ch’ng Huck Theng, chairman of the Association of Tourism Attractions Penang (ATAP), said the review by USA Today was biased and inaccurate because Penang Hill is still the most popular and famous tourist attraction in Penang.
He believes there is no need to take the review too seriously.
“This is a very typical marketing gimmick. I don’t think it is an important statement. We can just laugh about it and brush it off. The truth is Google review is there and it is open for everyone to see.
“I think we should not take it too seriously. We should do better on Penang Hill but we cannot overdo it. Let’s keep Penang Hill Penang Hill,” Ch’ng commented.
Penangite Joanne Lim Wei Ni said no matter what the report says, Penang Hill still remains her favourite hiking destination.
“I started hiking three years ago, and Penang Hill is not just an excellent place for me but also many hiking enthusiasts throughout Malaysia. And it is also a great place to train for cross country,” she said.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Siew Chia En