GEORGE TOWN, June 1 — Bringing back music festivals could help Penang regenerate its tourism industry that took a hard hit during the Covid-19 pandemic the past two years, state lawmaker Syerleena Abdul Rashid said today.

The Seri Delima assemblyman said music festivals are known worldwide to attract many tourists and earn revenue, noting that the state could revive past festivals like the Penang Island 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," she said in a statement.

She said music helps bring people together as it can transcend race and religion, adding that Penang has the infrastructure, talents, and hospitality resources to make such festivals succeed.

"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," she said.

The DAP backbencher said music tourism should extend to provide musicians or performers a place to record, unwind in between recording sessions and take in the full Penang experience.

"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," she added.

She said there is a need for political will, in terms of funding, policies and creating a network, that can make this concept a reality.

Syerleena pointed out that with the easing of border restrictions worldwide, many people are keen to travel.

"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," she said.

*Editor's note: The Penang Island Jazz Fest was wrongly labelled in an earlier edition and has since been corrected.