THE Penang Tourism Master Plan (PGTMP) 2021-2030 has failed to include a Covid-19 vaccination plan for workers in one of the state’s top-earning sectors, the Penang Tourist Guides Association said.

The plan, launched on May 8 after several delays, is not comprehensive enough and misses the mark, as vaccination is currently the most crucial issue for those working in the tourism sector, said association chairman Chin Poh Chin.

“The plan does not reflect the current situation in the tourism industry and misses the most important step, which is to vaccinate the tour operators on the island.

“There’s no point in having this flowery plan to ask (tourists) to come over if you don’t vaccinate the tour operators first.

“As a tour guide, if I don’t vaccinate myself, tourists won’t want me to lead their tours,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

She was responding to the PGTMP, which aims to position Penang as a premier tourist destination for the next 10 years.

State Tourism And Creative Economy Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin, however, said it was not feasible to expect the PGTMP to cover vaccination, which is managed separately by the federal government.

“The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme and its implementation is entrusted within the administration and authority of the Special Committee for Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV) established by the federal government,” Yeoh told The Malaysian Insight.

“Structurally and organisationally, the PGTMP and the National Covid-19 Immunisation programme should not mingle under the same paradigm. They have connections to a certain extent but they are administered independently.”

Yeoh said that since the immunisation programme is under JKJAV’s purview, the PGTMP could not elaborate on vaccination for tourism workers.

The 10-year plan does take into account the pandemic’s challenges and projections are made based on the national vaccination drive, he said.

“We have taken into consideration the setbacks caused by the pandemic and further taken the assumption that advancement in the vaccination drive globally and nationally, specifically the prediction of the completion schedule of our national immunisation programme in February 2022, in forecasting and projecting our tourism performance.

“We have integrated and synthesised the vaccination hypothesis given by the JKJAV into our tourism master plan,” Yeoh said, adding that the plan’s chapter titled “Mitigating Disasters, Sustaining Future Tourism” deals with a recovery action plan for the state’s tourism.

Because of Covid-19, the PGTMP will focus on domestic tourism.

It is also a flexible plan, which the state government will adjust to suit issues arising from the pandemic, he added.

“We have also pivoted PGTMP to focus on domestic tourism in the next few years before positioning Penang for the global market, after 2023.

“Penang will make changes to suit upcoming trends based on feasibility and suitability, which at this current stage, has certainly taken the Covid-19 pandemic into serious account.

According to the 272-page master plan, phase one will involve impact mitigation by introducing stimulus and urgent mitigating packages to sustain the tourism, arts, culture and heritage sectors, as they are the most affected by the pandemic.

Phase two involves strengthening the core of the tourism ecosystem and assisting industries in adapting to changes and new norms that come with the post-pandemic era.

This includes destination branding and setting up a tourism recovery committee.

Phase three will focus on economic recovery, to rebuild and sustain the tourism sector on the island by diversifying the market, restoring tourist confidence and promoting responsible tourism, among others.

He added that the master plan will also serve as a case study for future crises.

“These strategies and learnings will serve as a case study for future and potential crises, but also a testimonial of Penang’s proactive tactics in safeguarding the tourism sector and manoeuvring the industry towards accelerated recovery.”

Chin, who has not worked for more than 400 days since the pandemic started last year, said that instead of building more structures on the island according to the plan, the state government should focus on sprucing up Penang.

“Instead of planning on building more things, what we should do now is to spruce up tourism sites, train workers or upskill them for the new normal.

“And not wait for when tourism is back, or when the pandemic is over, when we will be busy welcoming tourists.

“Don’t plan things that are not viable,” she said.

Malaysia Association of Hotels Penang Chapter chairman K. Raj Kumar, however, said the PGTMP was better than nothing at all.

“The master plan is to say what we are planning ahead, at least we have something to open our minds to see what we can do rather than having fear and uncertainty there.

“Whether we achieve the plan or not is secondary, but at least there is a plan and a direction. Something is better than nothing,” he said.

Raj Kumar said that even if a comprehensive plan to tackle the pandemic was included, there was no guarantee that it would help matters.

“Covid-19 is new for all of us, nobody can declare they have experience in managing this, so we have to see what happens as we go along.

“This is better than sitting down and crying that we can’t plan because of Covid-19,” he said.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said at the launch of the master plan that the blueprint was important to Penang as the tourism sector makes up 49% of the state’s gross domestic product.

The plan is designed to be in sync with the Penang 2030 vision and include four main thrusts – namely diversification of tourism products, positioning Penang as a premier destination, ensuring sustainable and responsible tourism, and becoming a smart tourism destination.

According to data from the Penang Tourism Survey (2019) 9.48 million tourists stayed in hotels and other forms of tourist accommodations in the state in 2019.

Of this, 52% were international tourists while 48% were domestic visitors. International tourists spent an average of RM1,189 for a six-day stay on the island.

Consultants YZD Planning and Consult as well as those from Universiti Sains Malaysia and AIMST University came up with the master plan after dialogues, focus group discussions, interviews and town hall sessions with various stakeholders. – May 18, 2021.