The number of tourists visiting Penang has declined since Dec 2000, contrary to the popular belief that figures plunged following the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the United States last year.

In a report presented in the state assembly this week, state executive councillor for tourism Khee Paik Cheen said the total number of tourists who visited the northern state in 2000 was 3.78 million.

However, between January and September last year, the figure dropped to 2.64 million while between October and December, it declined to 827,091 people.

"The Sept 11 affair and the world economic downturn has affected the total number of tourists visiting Penang," stated Kee in the report.

However, a closer look at the statistics provided by Kee's office indicates that the number of tourists making the island their holiday destination declined on a monthly basis of100,000 since 2000.

The number decreased further between October and December last year — an immediate effect of the Sept 11 terror attacks. The following three months saw an average drop of 200,000 tourists visiting Penang.

Chinese tourists

As a remedy, the state tourism department has set its sights on China.

In the report, Kee said the number of Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia increased to 6.6 percent from 253,246 (2000) to 425, 246 last year. Of the latter, about 45,000 visited Penang.

Kee added the latest tourism advertisement bearing the slogan 'Malaysia Truly Asia' was also meant for China.

Various projects and ideas have also been employed to attract more Chinese tourists to Penang such as the proposed construction of the 'Sun Yat Sen' trail.

To ensure that language does not become a barriers, the use of Mandarin has been promoted in travel brochures, sign posts while more Mandarin speaking tour guides are also being employed.