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By Soo Ewe Jin. IT'S THE whole world out there you are trying to attract. So, if you are trying to tell the whole world what a great heritage site George Town, Penang, is, the natural thing to do would be to tell the world media about it.
I have friends all over the world and I am surprised that I have yet to hear from them about George Town's elevated status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They know how fond I am of my hometown, Penang, from the many stories I have shared with them about the quaint city called George Town.
I know how I can get them excited. All I have to do is to send them an email and link them up to some appropriate sites about Penang. But that would just be an individual effort which will not reach as many people in as short a time.
The role of the major media is crucial in this aspect, but not the media back home. If the government in Penang is serious about promoting George Town, it should arrange for a media tour for selected media groups in the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, Middle East and East Asia. Check the tourism figures and find out where the most number of tourists come from and then zoom in also on countries with the biggest potential.
Take them on a tour and ensure that you get maximum write-ups and exposure on TV. Don't forget specific channels that feature tourism spots because their programmes get repeated air time, thus widening your exposure.
Once the write-ups appear, tie-in with a simple contest that will allow the person or family in the US, UK or elsewhere to enjoy a stay in Penang. Virtual hunts can be used for them to gather information.
Recently, the Queensland tourism authority created an advertising sensation when it offered a job for plenty of money just to stroll around an island. That promotion got extra mileage because it was picked up by the world media.
When the New York Times recently announced that Penang was the second most popular place to visit ranked by its readers, that should have been the perfect opportunity for Penangites, official or otherwise, to respond and add to the interest, not in Penang, but in the American press. Instead, we were only interested in reading about it in the local Malaysian press.
There is a whole Penang diaspora out there who can be tapped to share about Penang, especially the heritage status for George Town.
The thinking and the projects can be initiated in the Penang government but the output must be outside of Penang and Malaysia. Otherwise, we will just sendiri shiok reading about how great George Town is when there is a whole world out there that is totally oblivious as to how Penang can be, and should be, their next holiday destination. Soo Ewe Jin believes you can take a Penangite out of Penang but not the Penang out of a Penangite. He resides in Petaling Jaya and is a deputy executive editor at The Star, Malaysia, which was started in Penang more than 30 years ago.
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