About 30 disgruntled guesthouse operators staged a protest across the road from the Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang today, where the World Tourism Conference is being held.

They wanted Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, who was a hononary guest at the opening ceremony, to intervene to help them resolve their problems.

Guesthouse operators in George Town say they are facing closure by the end of the month for not being able to comply with several "restrictive and costly" requirements imposed by the Penang Island City Council (MBPP).

Other than Nazri, also present at the conference were Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, World Tourism Organisation secretary-general Taleb Rifai and Deputy Tourism and Culture Minister Mas Ermieyati.

During the protest, the group held placards for about half-an-hour, urging the cars passing by the hotel to honk their horns to show their support.

Several uniformed police officers were stationed near the hotel but they did not disrupt the demonstration.

The placards displayed read "Guesthouse is tourism, we are part of tourism", "MBPP tidak adil, tidak timbang rasa" , "We are guesthouses, not big hotels" and "No guesthoouse = more big hotels?".

The protesters also chanted, "Save homestay! Say no to Penang state government!"

According to their spokeperson Jack Ong Hock Soon, another group of guesthouse operators, who were taking part in the World Tourism Conference, would submit a memorandum, signed by 70-odd guesthouse operators, to Nazri.

Ong claimed at a press conference that despite several attempts to appeal to the Penang government and MBPP, the operators failed to achieve their demands.

"We have no way out but to bring the issue to the federal government. We are facing the risk of losing all our life savings.

"Can the government tell us what its plan is, after all these guesthouses are forced to close down? Is the tourism going to become better?" Ong said.

Speaking to the press, Ong reminded the authorities about the ripple effects that could be caused by the closure of guesthouses.

For example, street food hawkers near the location may be badly affected with the closures, eventually winding up their businesses, Ong said.

“We are paying for temporary permit, we are not conducting our business illegally, we just want to be fully licensed,” he said.

Ong said guesthouses are not hotels and do not have much financial support.

With the little they have, guesthouse operators have rented, renovated and brought to life old pre-war houses, he added.

“Unfortunately, now the authorities want to impose the same regulations on us since there is only one set of rule for lodges.”

Ong said the state government used to dialogue with them and promised to meet them for a follow-up to resolve their issue.

However, state officials have yet to fix any date for the coming meeting but announced regulations that would stop them from doing business.

“It is like passing a death sentence on us,” Ong said.

"We just want to earn a living, we are not gangsters. Is Guan Eng still a people-centric chief minister, or just a Star chief minister?” he asked.