GEORGE TOWN, June 24 — YZD Planning and Consult (YZD) has been appointed as the consultant for the Penang Tourism Master Plan, a comprehensive plan for the state government to develop the state tourism sector from 2019 to 2030.

YZD is an independent consultancy agency registered with the Malaysian Institute of Planners and has over 20 years of experience in town planning and tourism development, including a tourism project in Port Dickson.

Penang Exco for Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage (PETACH) Yeoh Soon Hin said YZD was chosen from among 10 companies which had submitted their proposals from a Request for Proposal (RFP) held since December last year.

“After two (stages of) evaluations, YZD was selected through factors such as deep understanding towards the Penang market trends, relevant experience on the subject and the qualification, background, knowledge and expertise of the researchers on the matter,” Yeoh said at the signing ceremony for the Penang Tourism Master Plan here tonight.

Advertisement

Earlier, Yeoh represented Penang Global Tourism (PGT) to sign the official agreement with YZD, which was represented by its director Yuzaini Damanhuri. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

Meanwhile, YZD principal consultant Badaruddin Mohamed said they were given a preparation period of six months, starting June, to develop a proposal for the master plan.

He said the preparation involved developing a work plan outlining the goals, objectives, strategies and conducting a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis.

Advertisement

“We will be conducting six to seven focus group discussions with our stakeholders throughout the research, such as the state government, NGOs, tourism industry players and media,” he added. — Bernama