Although heritage, by its very nature, has been in existence for a long time, an understanding of the ways in which heritage products can be used is relatively recent. The increasing number of boutique hotels in George Town has contributed to the distinctiveness of lodging accommodation. In many cases, this has led to the commodification of the built historic environment and its history into a form of tourism product. This study sought to investigate the process of the built heritage commodification of boutique hotels in George Town. A semi-structured interview was conducted among boutique hotel managers and entrepreneurs in George Town, Penang. The findings revealed that external factors such as the global recognition of George Town as a World Heritage Site and the setting of the historic city are the pull factors for investors to purchase premises in the city centre. These built heritage resources (tangible heritage) and intangible values have been assimilated with their contemporary uses to be commodified into different types of boutique hotels. The attempt to establish a built heritage commodification model will contribute to the empirical data on the process and the factors that lead to the built heritage commodification of boutique hotels in heritage city.
Changes in human values and technological advancements have led to the reinvention of museum interpretation. Studies have shown that the transformation of museums’ functions and emerging typology of museums occur globally. Initially, museums’ function was to educate society and preserve artefacts for public access, but nowadays, museums have expanded their functions and have become market driven. The increasing number of museum establishments in George Town, Penang has mixed impacts to the curatorship and interpretation of museums. The strategic location of George Town, Penang, its branding as a World Heritage Site, cultural heritage attractions, and local values have gained popularity as a touristic destination. Museums and galleries are the top attractions reviewed by users in TripAdvisor. This article investigates the transformation of functions and typology of museums on the basis of the top 20 museums in Penang listed in TripAdvisor. Content analysis from the secondary data was conducted to establish the pattern and trends of museums’ diversification in Penang. Findings revealed that the diversification of museums in Penang has expanded from histories such as natural, science, human, and art to history and art, technology, and specialty. Considering that George Town has been nominated as a World Heritage Site, museums have become consumer oriented, and private ownership and collaborative partnership have grown drastically. This study contributes by showing that the diversification of museums’ function enhances creativity to meet future needs.
The homestay programme is a community-based tourism that offers tourists to experience the local lifestyle and heritage culture. Many studies focused on challenges of homestay programme, place attachment of hosts, contribution of homestay programme to rural economy. However, very few studies have focused on youths’ involvement in homestay activities. This paper aims to examine the youth’s involvement in homestay activities. A focus group discussion was conducted among the youth aged 20 - 34 years old. A non-probability sampling, that is, purposive sampling was employed. Multiple case studies in Homestay Kampung Jeruju, Homestay Kampung D’Belimbing and Homestay Kampung were selected to determine the differences between the locality factors. These findings indicate that youth's involvement in paddy field activities is based on social, physical, and economic factors. Thus, to attract youth to be involved in paddy field activities, it is recommended for the tourism players to pay attention to these three factors.
Street art comprises all kinds of art developed in public locations. This form of art has spread to all heritage streets in George Town, the capital of Penang Island, which is also a known UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, instead of its heritage, food, and interesting past life and structure, the rapid multiplication of street art in George Town has created a new and unusual art that attracts tourists. Street art has spread to small roads and heritage streets in the city. This art increases the awareness of spectators by introducing them to the rich history of these streets and inducing a lively concept in the inner city of George Town. Accordingly, the impact of iron rod sculptures and murals, which comprises approximately 90% of street art in George Town, were determined to explore and identify the effects of this street art on this world heritage site. The findings were obtained from 263 out of 306 questionnaires accomplished by tourists in George Town. The results confirm that tourists prefer murals over iron rod sculptures. Iron rod sculptures are designed to tell the history of the street, whereas murals are designed to create aesthetic value. The findings indicated that similar to iron rod sculptures, more control should be exercised on the subjects of murals.
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