LETTER | Timely for Penang to tap into music tourism

LETTER | There is without a shred of doubt that Penang is a hotspot of culture, heritage and creative arts. In terms of tourism, Penang has so many tourism products to offer – besides the obvious food tourism and heritage, there are also beach tourism, arts tourism, sports tourism and many other niche tourism categories.

Recently, the Penang State Government announced that Angkasa-X Innovation Sdn Bhd will be developing an RM30 million earth station and space technology centre at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Engineering Campus in Nibong Tebal with a target of launching its first Malaysian-made satellite early next year.

Perhaps with this breaking news, space tourism may one day be a reality for Penang.

Travel and tourism are consumer-driven and influenced heavily by global trends. Travellers tend to travel when there exists a sense of purpose and will often choose destinations that are safe.

To reduce the economic downturn spurred by the pandemic, Penang has formulated strategies as well as a theme, “A Safe Destination Here for Tomorrow,” aimed to boost traveller confidence.

Promoting music tourism

Furthermore, with the many different types of tourism (i.e., medical tourism, theme park tourism, fashion tourism, sustainability tourism) it is judicious that we tap into the potential of promoting music tourism.

In general, music tourism can be defined as travel with the purpose of attending local music festivals or any other music performances. Tourists are divided into two types – those who pay and visit places to enjoy music and those who get paid to visit places and perform.

It is well accepted that ‘music is the best tool to bring people together' and can transcend divisions of race and religion. Additionally, when planned properly, music tourism can be a lucrative contributing sector that can help the local economy by providing opportunities for local businesses, vendors, airlines, and hotels.

Music festivals are visited by many tourists annually and there is money to be made. Penang already has the resources, the infrastructure, the image, the brand, the international airport, the hotels and talents – so what is stopping us from reintroducing festivals like Penang Northern Jazz Fest, Malam Kenangan P Ramlee and Penang World Music Festival?

Music tourism isn’t just the act of visiting a city or town to see or play in music festivals or other music performances. It should extend to providing musicians or performers with a place to record, unwind in between recording sessions and take in the full Penang experience.

Making it a reality

With entities like Penang House of Music, Universiti Sains Malaysia’s School of Music, indie darlings like Soundmaker Studio and musicians who have made their stamp in the world – Alleycats, Ahmad Nawab and Dasha Logan, the possibilities to create and present music tourism in Penang is obvious and there is a definite need to push for more political will, in terms of funding, policies and creating a network that can make this concept a reality.

As border restrictions ease tremendously worldwide, travellers are hungry to travel. The term ‘revenge tourism’ isn’t just a comedic punchline but a phenomenon we see unfolding in front of our eyes, evident in the number of vehicles entering Penang during the recent Raya holidays.

Therefore, it is timely for Penang to tap into this concept and promote it in the same vein as heritage tourism and other more established tourism categories Penang is well known for.

SYERLEENA ABDUL RASHID is Seri Delima assemblyperson.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.