ALREADY famous as a tourist destination for its street food and Unesco listing as a heritage city, Penang now wants to sell its mainland half – Seberang Prai – as an eco-tourism destination.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state will have to repackage its tourism master plan – which is a work in progress at the state tourism committee level – to include the eco-tourism attractions of Seberang Prai.

He said the master plan would look at Penang as a whole, while promoting the various attractions would be done at local level to also drive economic growth for local communities.

“Tour agents can package Penang tours that include Seberang Prai mainland attractions, like our mangrove forests, mudflats and rivers, which are all important tourism assets.

“We also have the Mengkuang Dam, one of the largest bodies of water in Peninsular Malaysia.

“Penang can be a three- to four-day destination with visitors spending time on both sides of the state to enjoy the attractions,” he told reporters after opening the Second Seberang Prai International Conference on Eco-Tourism and Conservation Efforts in Seberang Jaya this morning.

Tourism is big money spinner for the state, contributing revenue to the state’s services sector, which is half of Penang’s economy.

Penang is also a major tourism player in Malaysia, which received 25.9 million arrivals with tourism receipts of RM82.2 billion last year. Tourism contributes 14.9% to the national GDP.

Chow said Seberang Prai was never featured as a tourism destination until recently, after the Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) and its councillors put effort into making it a world class eco-tourism destination. 

MPSP president Rozali Mohamud said 40% of Seberang Prai’s land is still used for agriculture although the mainland has gone through much urbanisation and industrialisation.

“Seberang Prai has huge potential to become a regional eco-tourism site. The main potential sites are mudflats and mangrove swamps in Penaga, Teluk Air Tawar and Kuala Muda; the freshwater swamp in the Air Hitam Dalam recreational forest in Sungai Dua.

“These sites attract thousands of migratory water birds of hundreds of different species annually. They have potential to attract birdwatchers from Japan and Korea.”

Rozali said tourism was not MPSP’s core business, but promoting it might help raise awareness among mainland residents to keep Seberang Prai clean.

He also said if MPSP is elevated to city council, the new status itself will help market Seberang Prai and “open people’s eyes”.

Deputy tourism minister Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, who also spoke at the conference, said eco-tourism is a growing segment in global tourism, which also helps to promote sustainable tourism.

There is still no data to show how well eco-tourism in Malaysia has done, but there are indications that tourists enjoy such activities, he said.

“The departing visitor survey indicated that 35% of tourists visiting Malaysia had taken part in eco-tourism activities like hiking, diving, snorkelling, birdwatching, caving and fishing.

“It shows that eco-tourism is relatively popular among tourists,” he said. – October 8, 2018.