Genting Dream (right) and Spectrum of the Seas docking at the Penang Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal on July 5. — Filepic
WHAT is the most valued tourism event in Penang which gives a quantum leap of revenue for everyone involved?
Cruise ship arrivals.
In March 2017, The Star spoke to American Phillip Busch, who had just disembarked from the Diamond Princess ship.
While standing near Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower in George Town, he asked two policemen how he could get to the “old town”.
Busch expressed wonderment when the policemen told him he was already in the old town.
For the uninitiated, that was Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal, one of the few facilities in the world built right within a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The first sign that Penang tourism was set to see a boom this year was when 80% of the 3,000-plus passengers on Spectrum of the Seas set foot in the heritage enclave on July 2.
Studies show that the average cruise passenger spends US$80 (RM354) in George Town, be it on food and beverage, shopping or sightseeing trips.
So, those 2,500 cruise ship passengers spent an estimated RM885,000 during their nine hours ashore and it must be stressed that this amount was spread among tourism players large and small, from hawkers and trishaw riders to shopkeepers and tour agencies.
A few days later, Spectrum of the Seas came back and Genting Dream arrived with 3,000 passengers who easily spent RM1mil when they reached the shore.
Not bad for everyone involved, especially trishaw riders and small-time tour operators whose businesses were in dire straits because of the pandemic, with many leaving the industry for good to seek alternative income.
This is the beauty of this tourism sub-sector – the revenue is spread among grassroots players.
Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) spent RM155mil on the cruise terminal expansion so that two Oasis-class ships, which are among the biggest in the world, can berth at the same time.
“We usually make preparations to have one liner leave before the other one comes in, but seeing both Spectrum of the Seas and Genting Dream berthed together on July 6 was indeed great,” said PPSB chief executive officer Datuk Sasedharan Vasudevan.
He said the plan was to increase cruise passenger arrivals to two million by 2024, with 2,000 calls and at least 750,000 foreign tourists.
“The target is to get each cruise passenger to spend US$120 (RM531), which is close to the global average of USD150 (RM664).
A conservative figure of a million passengers spending that kind of money will give businesses an accumulated revenue of RM531mil that year.
However, it is not going to be easy as a lot of work needs to be done to draw cruise ship tourists here.
Not only must George Town be the attraction but other places in Penang also need to be developed.
There must be a concerted effort by state tourism agencies, associations and businesses to promote Penang as more than a heritage city, with so many other attractions for cruise passengers.
“We set up durian stalls last week when Genting Dream was here and it was a hit.
“The idea was to create a carnival-like atmosphere when the passengers arrive and keep the momentum up until they leave,” Sasedharan said, stressing that he welcomed ideas from every level of tourism to make cruise tourism special in Penang.
Tour operators, retail outlets and trishaw riders should re-invent themselves, be aware of cruise ships calling at the port and be prepared to welcome them.
Workers in the services sector need to be trained to recognise cruise passengers walking about and create a pleasant shopping experience for them.
A large cruise liner is set to make Penang its homeport in September, which will bring in passengers by air.
They most likely will stay a night or two before boarding the ship, creating yet another stream of tourism revenue.
Cruise tourism is going to be an important catalyst for Penang’s tourism sector and those who are prepared will reap enormous benefits from the boom over the next few years.
