April 4, 2025
GEORGE TOWN – The drop in tourist arrivals in Penang during the Hari Raya holidays is due to timing and the desire for overseas travel, say tourism players.
State tourism committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said travellers returned to their hometowns for Hari Raya and also for Qing Ming (Chinese All Souls’ Day).
“Chinese New Year and Singapore’s school holidays have also just passed, while China’s Golden Week holiday is still a month away,” he noted.
Wong, however, stressed that the tourism downturn was not particular to Penang.
“All states are seeing lower tourism performance this season due to these overlapping factors.
“Our traditional markets such as India and China as well as within Asean were also celebrating Hari Raya or commemorating Qing Ming,” he said.
Commenting on police’s estimate that 2.6 million vehicles would enter Penang for the holidays, Wong said this might further discourage potential visitors who feared being caught in heavy traffic.
Association of Tourism Attractions Penang secretary Joseph Goh confirmed that about 60 attractions on the island saw an average 10% drop in visitors during the holiday season.
“To counter this, we have planned roadshows and many attractions will undergo major revamps to enhance affordability,” he said.
Goh, who is also the chief executive officer of Entopia, added that there was a decline in domestic visitors to the establishment but an increase in international tourists this year.
Meanwhile, Penang Hill Corporation said it saw good arrival numbers, recording more than 16,000 visitors on the first and second days of Hari Raya.
“Of the figure, 51% were foreigners and 49% were locals,” it said.
Penang Tourist Guide Association chairman Clement Liang conceded that the timing of Hari Raya holidays this year was not ideal for foreign tourists, while domestic tourists were hesitant to visit Penang due to the anticipated traffic congestion.
“International tourists’ peak seasons usually coincide with summer, winter or their own holiday periods.
“This year’s Hari Raya holidays do not align with these times,” he explained.
Liang said local visitors prefer to visit Penang’s renowned food haunts rather than the tourist attractions.
However, he said many eateries were closed for the Hari Raya holiday.
Nevertheless, he was glad that Penang still benefited from the almost daily cruise arrivals, which provided steady business for tour guides.
Travel service provider Trip.com said in a statement that international travel bookings by Malaysians for this year’s Hari Raya holidays from March 29 to April 6 grew by 111% year on year, while domestic travel bookings doubled by 103%.
Its statistics showed that cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou surged in popularity this holiday season – besides Osaka, Busan, Kunming, Chongqing, Suzhou, Chengdu and Guangzhou.
It said Malaysians travelling to Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and the Maldives grew by more than 300% compared with last year.
On Tuesday, Malaysian Association of Hotels Penang chairman Tony Goh lamented the dismal tourist arrivals this holiday season.
Data showed that a prominent four-star hotel in George Town recorded an occupancy rate of 40%, while the beach hotels recorded occupancy of just a little over 60%.