Yeoh Siew Hoon says the UNESCO heritage listing of George Town must provide the impetus to give Penang a fresh start.
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (Blue Mansion), one of the historical sites under UNESCO World Heritage List.
I popped into Penang a few days before UNESCO was due to make its decision on the listing of George Town as a World Heritage site.
I had heard from a reliable source that it would happen and shared the tip with industry friends. While there was excitement at the possibility, there also seemed to be a lack of confidence. “Nah, we won’t get it,” said one hotelier. Some said they had been told there was something wrong with the application that was submitted.
Whatever the case, the announcement was made this week and Penang’s tourism rejoiced. It is a spot of good news the island badly needs. Its economy is suffering. Tourism is slipping away. Corporate travel is down. Traditional higher-yield leisure markets have dropped off.
With a new state government in place, there is fresh hope that Penang, once the tourism jewel in Malaysia and that was a long, long time ago, will bounce back, never mind the short-term pain it has to go through at the moment. Two major infrastructure projects have been scrapped by the Federal Government since its defeat in the state in the March elections.
But what does the listing actually mean for Penang tourism?
The immediate benefit is symbolism and association in consumers’ minds. “Penang equals heritage.” It gives Penang an immediate, unique selling point – something real and authentic beyond its beach destination positioning, which has long passed its sell-by date. Penang tourism must muster the smarts to use this new selling point wisely.
Old shophouses are a familiar sight in Penang
There’s of course the downside of listing. Beware politicians who would use it to promote their own agenda. Beware speculators and developers who would use it to profiteer. Georgetown must not become a “ghost town” in which only the rich can afford to live and play. The local communities and their way of life and trade must be conserved. Georgetown must not become just a “Disneyland” for tourists in which everything is restored to suit foreign palates.
Luang Prabang in Laos, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been accused of becoming a theme park for tourists in which every house on the main street has been turned into a shop, café, boutique hotel and spa.
The saving grace in George Town is there is enough local wealth and a big, thriving residential and business community with the political and social awareness to stop any such slide into tourism schtick. And honestly, I think the prospect of an immediate deluge of tourists just because of the listing is as remote as durians being allowed into hotels.
If you take Singapore’s Katong area as an example, there is a nice balance between what would attract tourists and what keeps locals thronging to it – a mixture of nostalgia, local colour and great food.
I quote a friend of mine: “As a Penangite, I would be very upset if they use the UNESCO listing and preserve stuff to suit foreign palates only. Reading The Star's front page, I notice they've not included Pitt Street's Kuan Yin Teng nor Cheong Fatt Tze's mansion. I wouldn’t want to have art galleries or more performance theatres springing up all over Penang or attracting more hippies to Love Lane and preserving all those sleazy motels there anyway just for their $ yield.”
But let’s not pour cold water even before the pot has started heating. Let’s take time to celebrate the listing and, in the meantime, here’s some real action Penang should take while it rides out the tourism slump in today’s rather grey economic climate so that when the sun shines again, Penang will ready to reclaim its place.
1. Clean up the streets
Start a grassroots campaign and get communities involved in cleaning up Penang – streets, hawker areas, markets …
People queuing up for char koay teow at Lorong Selamat.
2. Sort out the taxi drivers, enough said
3. Improve the sense of arrival at Penang airport
When you arrive in Samui, you know you are on a tropical island. When you land in Bali, you know you are in the island of Gods. With Penang, all you get is a walk down a dimly-lit corridor and a sense of people trying to sell you things – from souvenirs to apartment blocks. And let’s not even mention the toilets.
4. Get the tourism marketing machinery in place
Review, revamp and revitalise tourism marketing collateral, online and offline. Time to throw out the old, cluttered images of fuzzy messages, time to focus on one clear branding message.
5. Get expertise in urban planning and heritage conservation to make the most out of the UNESCO listing. Learn from other destinations.
As they say, be careful what you wish for as you may actually get it. Now that it’s got it, Penang has a responsibility not only to its local communities but also to the international community at large.
As stated, “Each World Heritage Site is the property of the state on whose territory the site is located, but it is considered in the interest of the international community to preserve each site.”
The world is watching.
Note: For frequently asked questions, go to UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Photos: Courtesy of Chong Cheng Hai, Malaysia
