No News Is Bad News
Mr Penang CM Chow, what’s wrong with Penang International Airport's counter services?
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4, 2023: The long queues at the Bayan Lepas Penang International Airport has been going on for more than three months.
The situation is so bad that it has attracted international attention, highlighted by Singapore’s Straits Times.
So, Mr Penang Chief Minister (CM) Chow Kon Yeow, what is happening? Are you sleeping on the job or is the arm chair in your Level 28 Komtar office too comfortable for you to get up and check the “long-queue crisis” at the airport.
Though, it may be the airport authorities problem, but as the CM of the state, please show some concern.
Already, there are enough international bad media publicity on Penang’s tourism industry. The state can ill-afford more adverse publicity on the state’s struggling tourism industry.
And, Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) spending some RM50,000 for a publicity write-up in the MCA-owned “party mouthpiece” (The Star), is not going to help counter the negative publicity.
The money spent could have been used on more effective measures, like improving tourism products and costs or even on social media to reach out to tourists, both domestic and international.
For Chow’s information, a same news report that was carried by The Star and an online news portal showed the portal had 10 times more shares than The Star online.
You don’t need the brain of a rocket scientist to figure out which news media have a better reach.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below news related to Penang’s tourism industry's woes:
Tuesday 26 September 2023
USA Today: Penang Hill is Asia’s worst tourist trap, second most overrated destination
No News Is Bad News
USA Today: Penang Hill is Asia’s worst tourist trap, second most overrated destination
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26, 2023: USA Today has named Penang Hill as Asia’s worst tourist trap
(a place that attracts many tourists and where goods and services are more expensive than normal).
And it also rated Penang Hill as the second most overrated tourist destination.
Do Malaysians, especially Penangites, agree with USA Today?
Whatever, it will do well for the DAP-led Penang unity government to treat the rating seriously and take remedial measures if necessary.
Will Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow really understand what needs to be corrected or improved?
Or will he and his state executive councillors continue to rest on their laurels and ignore the matter raised by USA Today?
One thing is certain. Penang Hill needs more services to satisfy the expectations of tourists who allocate much of their precious time to go up the hill.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below what was reported on Penang Hill:
UPDATE
No News Is Bad News: As expected, Penang government slams USA Today, instead of taking the criticisms positively and act accordingly wherever reuired. The DAP-led government is looking to be no different from the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.
Exco man dismisses Penang Hill’s ‘tourist trap’ label by US daily
Wong Hon Wai says USA Today’s finding doesn’t take into account reviews made in languages other than English.
FMT Reporters - 26 Sep 2023, 5:26pm
Penang tourism committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the nearly 50 million visitors to Penang Hill over the past 100 years was proof of its popularity. (Bernama pic)
GEORGE TOWN: A state executive councillor has dismissed an American newspaper’s label of Penang Hill as a “tourist trap”, saying it is a conclusion reached after poor research.
State tourism committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the research by USA Today, which was based on testimonies left on Google, was flawed as it only considered English reviews.
Last month, the newspaper published its “Top 100 biggest tourist traps worldwide”, in which Penang Hill was ranked ninth.
USA Today said it reached the conclusion after searching for the phrases “tourist trap,” “overrated” or “expensive” in reviews left on Google in July, after which it divided the number of mentions by the total number of reviews.
“The bad reviews are about two dozen, and it (USA Today) didn’t take into consideration the many other good reviews about Penang Hill – which outnumbers the bad ones,” Wong said in a statement.
Wong said there have been nearly 50 million visitors to Penang Hill ever since the funicular railway began in 1923, with many repeat visitors.
“This shows that they are attracted to the hill station’s charm. The number of visitors speaks for itself,” he said.
The colonial-era hill station has a history going back to 1738.
It was initially cleared for the British colonial community to enjoy the cooler air of the hill.
Previous reports stated that a RM285 million Penang Hill cable car project was expected to be ready by 2025.
Penang Hill is the country’s third national biosphere reserve after Tasik Chini in Pahang and the Crocker Range in Sabah under Unesco’s Man and Biosphere programme.
USA Today Names Penang Hill Asia’s Worst Tourist Trap & Second Most Overrated Destination
Published
4 hours ago
September 26, 2023
By Jamie
Internationally distributed American daily newspaper USA Today recently released an article listing the top 100 biggest tourist traps worldwide, aiming to arm tourists with the information they “need before planning to visit a popular tourist destination”.
In the article, the publication also listed the top 100 most overpriced attractions and the top 100 most overrated attractions worldwide based on their analysis of 23.2 million Google reviews.
Usa today’s top 100 worst tourist traps globally
Given our country’s popularity among global travellers, it was no surprise that a tourist spot in Malaysia made it to the list, but the place itself may come as a surprise to many: Penang Hill.
In fact, not only did Penang Hill was included in the list, but USA Today also placed it as the worst tourist trap in Asia and 9th in the world.
Usa today’s top 100 overrated tourist attractions globally
Furthermore, the publication also put the Penang tourist attraction as the 2nd most overrated tourist attraction in Asia and 14th globally, as well as the 64th most overpriced in the world.
So, how did USA Today compiled the list and ended up having Penang Hill as the worst tourist trap in Asia? Well, the publication said that it analysed 23.2 million Google reviews of 500 popular tourist attractions in the world, spanning 65 countries in 6 continents in July 2023.
Usa today’s top 100 overpriced tourist attractions globally
The publication then analysed mentions of certain keywords that indicate a common negative sentiment among visitors, such as “tourist trap”, “expensive” and “overrated”, hence the 3 main categories in the article.
Besides that, USA Today also clarified that the list started with 1,600 tourist attractions and then narrowed down to 500 spots, which would explain why Penang Hill was the only Malaysian tourist attraction in all 3 categories.
Source: Trip.com
With that in mind, while the methodology was quite data-based, the list itself seems to be rather subjective and has many flaws. For example, only Google reviews written in English were analysed and also included the use of the keywords in a positive context (for example, “It’s kind of a tourist trap but we loved it”) in creating the list. For the latter, USA Today said that these instances of usage were not frequent enough to be statistically significant.
Besides that, it is also worth mentioning that Penang Hill was named Asia’s worst tourist trap based on just 21 mentions of the keyword “tourist trap” in a mere 3,737 Google reviews (0.56% frequency). The 21 mentions when viewed across all the 100 tourist destinations mentioned are among the fewest in the list.
Source: Viator
So, what do you guys think of these findings by USA Today? Do you agree with Penang Hill’s placement? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
‘Squeezed like sardines’: Long queues at Penang airport spark travellers’ fury
Many affected travellers posted photos of themselves queueing in a packed arrival hall with little to no space. PHOTO: SIN CHEW DAILY
UPDATED
Long queues at Penang International Airport (PIA) lasting three to four hours on Dec 2 have left some travellers less than sanguine about their time on the island.
With fewer than half of the immigration counters open that day, long lines of passengers awaiting clearance spanned the length of the arrival hall. Some who were queueing on a stationary escalator with their hand luggage resorted to sitting on the steps, according to social media posts.
The situation was much improved on Dec 3, as all 12 immigration counters were in operation, reported Malaysia’s Sin Chew Daily.
One traveller arriving in Penang on an international flight told the Chinese-language newspaper that clearing Customs and collecting his luggage took just 30 minutes.
Nine international flights arriving on Dec 2 were affected, as only five out of 12 counters were open between 11.40am and 2.30pm, Penang Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai told Malaysian media.
The flights originated from places including Singapore, Jakarta and Taipei. Passengers from eight outbound flights were also affected.
Mr Wong said Penang’s Immigration Department had been notified of the incident.
He added that people had also experienced long waiting times two weeks ago, which could be due to numerous Immigration Department staff being on leave. This similarly happened during weekends, especially Saturdays when more flights were scheduled to arrive in Penang.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said on Dec 3 said that people would encounter more long waits unless action was taken to cope with the expected rise in international visitors, as Malaysia recently announced visa-free entry to tourists from countries including China and India.
Democratic Action Party chairman and former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng said on Dec 3 that he had contacted Malaysia’s Home Minister over the immigration congestion problem, conveying his hopes for improvement.
Many affected travellers posted photos of themselves queueing in a packed arrival hall with little to no space, tagging PIA in a bid to attract the attention of the authorities.
One tourist wrote on Facebook: “PIA’s unbelievably messy crowds... You need to spend a few hours before even reaching the immigration counters. Please think twice before coming to Penang for holiday.”
Some blamed the sudden introduction of the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card on Dec 1, which the Immigration Department said applies to most foreign travellers, for the chaos.
Mr Hsu Shang-zhi, president of the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce in Penang, told Malaysian Chinese daily China Press that many incoming travellers were caught off guard by the announcement of the new regulation.
He said the airline had told him that travellers would be exempted from completing the entry form until Dec 8, and blamed the airport for not providing comprehensive guidance on the measure and for not responding well with crisis control. It took him nearly four hours just to reach the arrival hall.
He added that this was the first time he had encountered such an issue at the airport, having lived in Penang for over 20 years.
Another traveller from Taiwan, Mr Cai Ding-bang, told China Press he was part of a 100-strong group visiting Malaysia to attend a conference. A first-time visitor to Penang, he added that many in his group now have a bad impression of the island and may not return.
On flight review site Skytrax, the airport was give a 1/10 rating by Singaporean J. Teo, who wrote: “Horrible! Waited 3 hrs+ to clear Customs. Poorly organised and no one was there to take charge.”
Gerakan deputy president Oh Tong Keong said he was shocked and disappointed that tourists were entering Malaysia “squeezed like sardines”. He wrote on Facebook: “Is this the way our country is welcoming tourists?”
Mr Oh said that this incident could have a serious negative impact on the tourism industry, just as the country is working to recover economically. He urged the airport authorities and the Immigration Department to take a serious look at the matter to avoid a repeat of similar incidents. - ST
Tourists ‘packed like sardines’ on KLIA shuttle buses: Johor official urges action
Johor State Assembly Speaker Mohd Puad Zarkashi said passengers must stand in overcrowded buses with heavy luggage. PHOTO: PUAD ZARKASHI/FACEBOOK
UPDATED
JUL 15, 2023, 5:15 PM SGT
PETALING JAYA - Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is an important gateway for foreign tourists and Malaysia’s reputation will suffer when tourists are “packed like sardines” in shuttle buses between the main building and the international terminal, says Johor’s state assembly speaker.
Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi took Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to task over the packed shuttle buses as well as the malfunctioning aerotrain in a Facebook post on Saturday.
“The condition of this facility is described as ‘first class’, but the maintenance is lacking, resembling a ‘low-class’ standard,” said the Umno supreme council member.
He also said that when he had left Malaysia for Jeddah on June 17, the aerotrain at KLIA was inoperable and when he returned nearly a month later, it was still unusable.
“KLIA serves as the main entry for many foreign tourists, but the perception of a developed country diminishes when tourists are crammed into buses like sardines.
“MAHB is also at fault here. Passengers and tourists must stand in overcrowded buses, carrying their heavy hand luggage. It’s unfortunate, especially for the elderly,” he said in his post.
Dr Puad asked Transport Minister Anthony Loke and Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing to look into the matter.
Mr Loke had earlier said one of the two Automated People Movers or aerotrain services at KLIA would start operating next year. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Budget carrier MYAirline suspends flights, leaving passengers stranded at KL airport
Passengers at the budget terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 were greeted with closed service counters. PHOTO: CHOCDEAN/X
UPDATED
OCT 12, 2023, 10:25 PM SGT
Dozens of passengers were left stranded at Malaysia’s budget airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday morning, after the sudden suspension of operations by budget carrier MYAirline on the same day.
The airline, whose first flight was in December 2022, announced at 5.30am on Facebook and subsequently other social media platforms that operations had been “temporarily suspended” with immediate effect because of “significant financial pressures”.
Passengers due to board morning flights to various locations – including Bangkok, Kuching and Penang – at the budget terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) were greeted with closed service counters.
In images circulated online, a crowd of people with their luggage were seen gathering at check-in counters while airport employees attended to them.
Some passengers wrote on social media that they had been told by KLIA2 airport authorities to contact MYAirline or the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) for assistance, with dozens writing that they had learnt of their flight cancellations only after arriving at the airport.
Many complained about the short notice given before the airline suspended flight operations, with one user of X, formerly known as Twitter, saying passengers were made to “wait like idiots” for hours for a counter that would never open.
Discussions online revolved around alternative flight options, especially for many who had been booked on flights on Thursday.
Passengers who were scheduled to fly with MYAirline were advised to seek assistance from its customer care team through e-mail.
Those who were affected by the cancelled flights were reportedly told to avoid going to the airport unless they had secured alternative travel plans.
MYAirline made no mention of refunds, but Mavcom said on Thursday that the airline was still liable for compensating customers.
The aviation commission said it had ordered MYAirline to stop the booking and sales of its flights on all platforms.
It added that it was investigating the airline’s operator over complaints of “unpaid statutory payments” to its employees.
The airline’s various social media platforms were still promoting flights on Wednesday.
Rival local airlines, including AirAsia and Batik Air, on Thursday offered alternatives to passengers affected by MYAirline’s suspension.
Budget carrier Batik Air, formerly Malindo Air, is offering promotional fares to those who had been booked on MYAirline flights to destinations such as Penang and Langkawi.
AirAsia, another low-cost carrier, is giving a 50 per cent discount on its base fares to affected travellers booked on routes connecting Kuala Lumpur and cities such as Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Bangkok.
National carrier Malaysia Airlines invited MYAirline management to re-allocate passengers to its flights. - ST
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