Wednesday, February 08 2012
Cultural heritage tourism moves into focus
Monday, 05 April 2010 15:31

INTEREST in cultural heritage tourism is on the rise in George Town, with rising media attention via three articles in the last few weeks. 

Marina Emmanuel in her Business Times commentary, “Re-orienting Penang as heritage destination”, observed that in the two years since the World Heritage Site award was conferred on George Town, the potential of heritage tourism is increasingly being recognised by investors.

“Cultural heritage tourism can be a major contributor to the state's coffers if an integrated approach is adopted... By ‘rediscovering’ culture as an important marketing tool to attract travellers with special interest in heritage and arts, the spinoffs can be significant. Heritage tourism, if promoted responsibly and correctly, can help not only preserve the island state's cultural heritage but also facilitate harmony and better understanding among people. The move will also support culture, help renew tourism and more importantly, serve as a fresh take in branding Penang instead of competing with other island resorts which are miles ahead of the game in selling its sun, sea and skies.” Read here

Echoing this idea is Ooi Geok Ling, managing director of Penang Global Tourism (PGT). In “Taking tourism to the next level” (Penang Economic Monthly, April 2010), she stated that “Penang is a great tourism product that is known globally. What we have to do now is leverage on our recent World Heritage status to effectively promote George Town and Penang. There is no need for us to reinvent the wheel... We’ve been handed a gift with the Unesco listing; now we need to explore ways to capitalise on this in a responsible (sustainable), planned manner. George Town is a gem of a place because of its authenticity so we have to be careful about making it tourist-friendly but not ‘touristy’.”

Meanwhile, in The Malaysian Insider's, “Making the past work for the present in Penang”, a cross section of stakeholders in George Town talks about how they have been affected by changes in the city and their hopes and aspirations. Nevertheless, the article also poses the question of what the value is in preserving old buildings, “when the people and activities in them that gave them their character are long gone, only to be replaced by touristy kitsch and shops selling knockoff T-shirts?”. Read here

Conservation-heritage blogs

In a related matter, iGeorgeTown would also like to highlight two interesting blogs on heritage conservation efforts. The first is Penang Shophouses, Rumah Kedai, led by the Cultural Heritage Action Team (CHAT) an alliance of volunteer conservation architects, historians, heritage practitioners and educationists. It reports on Penang shophouse styles, renovation do’s and don’ts, etc. View here. The second, 23 Love Lane “hopes to demystify the process of a conservation project, and help explain just what goes on and why”. View here for more.

Other news

  • PICC project to go ahead: The proposed RM50mil Penang International Convention Centre (PICC) in Relau will go ahead as planned even if the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) has to fork out the money. Read here
  • PDC deputy GM quits: Exactly a year after he was appointed as special adviser to Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng and deputy general manager of the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) on April 1, former international banker turned private enterprise specialist Julian Candiah has called it a day. Read here
  • Call for housing review - homes on the island beyond reach of average wage earners: The Penang Government has been asked to address the lack of affordable housing for the low to middle-income groups, particularly the young wage earners on the island. Read here
  • Penang to consult people ahead of water rate hike: Penang is asking water users for feedback before raising the low water rates through a proposed “water conservation penalty” this August. Read here
  • Penang Port posts record profit: Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) achieved a record profit after tax of more than RM70 million for 2009, almost triple its profit after tax of RM23 million in 2008. Read here

For more news on Penang from March 29 to April 4, 2010 , please click here

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