PENANG will be taking a gradual approach when it opens its door to receive tourists.
Penang Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said the state was focussing on promoting domestic tourism.
Yeoh revealed that a strategy was in place to promote inter-state tourism.
“I had a virtual roundtable discussion with the tourist attraction players yesterday (May 15) and the idea of collaborating with the ‘green zone’ states was mooted.
“We are planning to create the ‘green states bubble’ or the ‘green states corridor’ to promote inter-state tourism.
“We will begin with promoting Penang among Penangites. Then, we will gradually open it to the ‘green zone’ states.
“We expect Penang to gradually open its tourism sector by the end of quarter three this year, if we see a strong reduction of new Covid-19 cases within these few months,” Yeoh told Buletin Mutiara during his visit to Penang HIll and The Habitat Penang Hill today.
Yeoh, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow together with Bukit Bendera MP Wong Hon Wai and Penang Island City Council (MBPP) mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang visited the two places of attraction to check out their prevention and control measures.
Yeoh said that he was confident that with the support from the stakeholders and tourism players, Penang could rebound from the Covid-19 impact very soon.
On the Penang Tourism Master Plan, Yeoh said the master plan was almost ready before it was held back due to the movement control order (MCO).
“There will be changes in tourists’ behaviour, demands and needs. We need to incorporate these new norms in the master plan.
“We hope to complete the master plan in a few more months,” he said.
Yeoh also said that he had also conducted virtual roundtable discussions with the hoteliers.
“We are going to have more virtual discussions before setting up a task force and a think tank to prepare us for the state’s tourism recovery,” he said.
The Habitat Penang Hill managing director Allen Tan said about 15 people took part in the virtual roundtable discussion on May 15.
“The discussion was hosted by Yeoh; and tourist attraction players including ATAP (Association of Tourism Attractions Penang) members joined in.
“The team draw inspiration from the trans-Tasman bubble between Australia and New Zealand to promote safe travel destinations. Our scale (the green states bubble) would be slightly smaller.
“It could be Kedah-Penang for a start, and we can then extend to Perlis. We can promote Penang to the neighbouring states which are green zones.
“We also learnt that a tourism recovery task force would be set up after the Hari Raya celebration,” he said.
Tan said many would ask: “How can we ensure that the visitors are from the ‘green states’?”
“That’s where technology comes in. We still need some sort of verification,” Tan added.
Tan said The Habitat Penang Hill is fully complying to the standard operating procedure (SOP) and the new normal.
“We are looking forward to the reopening of The Habitat,” he said.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government was still awaiting the decision from National Security Council to reopen this sector.
“I believe that this sector is in the prohibited list of activities, determined by the National Security Council.
“We hope that the National Security Council can review the situation and gradually allow activities to be reopened.
“We adopted the Penang Gradual Recovery Strategy. We hope that a similar approach can be taken to open this sector.
“We will focus our attention on domestic tourism.
“We can attract visitors from neighbouring states,” he said.
David Brown’s Restaurant & Tea Terrace general manager Hanson Li said the restaurant followed the SOP set by the Government. He urged Penangites to comply with the guidelines and to help promote the state.
Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) general manager Datuk Cheok Lay Leng said the corporation was ready and had prepared for the new normal.
“We follow strict procedures such as body temperature screening and social distancing. The preparations were ready since few weeks ago.
“All outlets on Penang Hill are also ready to welcome visitors to Penang Hill,” he said.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Ahmad Adil Muhamad
Video by Alvie Cheng
