Heritage conservation for city marketing: The imaging of the historic city of Georgetown,

Sumarni Ism ail , Yah aya Ahmad and Hasn iya li Hamzah

Faculty of Built Environment University of Malaya 50603

Ab stract

The process of imaging for city marketing purposes has the implication on culture, conservation and heritage. City ma rketing, especially in the European context, has been examined in interdiscip lina ry literature with specia l focus on imaging for tourism. Little is reported about the imaging of those cities' ex-colonies in the East. The Histori c City of Georgetown in Penang, dubbed 'the City of Living Culture', has been gearing her development towa rds living up to the image. This paper examines the imaging of the Historic City of Georgetown for heritage tourism and city marketing tool by the public agencies involved. A short introduction to city marketing, imaging and heritage tourism is offered due to sparse literature in the built environment literature and to serve as a foundation to the main discourse of this paper. The bulk of this paper discusses the conservation of heritage as image dimensions in the marketing of Georgetown . We submitted that Georgetown has successfully utilised and capitalised on its cultu ral diversity and tangible heritage based on its colonial legacy to promote the city as evidenced by its recent inscription into UNESCO's World Heritage Site list. Nonetheless, building and maintaining the synergy between the government, the private sector and the people is essentia l for the city's heritage tourism industry.

Keywords: City ma rketing, heritage touris m, conservation, cultu re, city image

Introduction City of Georgetown in Penang, dubbed The process of imaging for city 'the City of Living Culture', has been marketing purposes has the implication gearing her strategies towards realising the on culture, conser vation and heritage. image. Tourism focus in the Historic City City marketing, especially in the of Georgetown is its heritage buildings European context, has been scrutinised and living cuIture, a culmination of its in interdisciplinary literature with special colonised past and rich history. This paper focus on imaging for tourism. Little is examines the imaging of the Historic City reported about the imaging of those ex­ of Georgetown for heritage tourism and colonial cities in the East where local city marketing tool by the public agencies trad itions, heritage and culture co-exist involved . It began with a discussion on wi th remnants of their colonial past. Cities city marketing, imaging and herit age in have their own un ique and tourism to lay the foundation to this distinctive images drawn from various study. The context of this paper is set by cultura l eleme nts includ ing traditions, briefly describing Penang and the Historic heritage and culture with each clement City of Georgetown before proceeding to being unique to each city. The Historic d iscuss heritage and conservation which

27 Journal of Design and the Built Ellvirollment underlie the issue of city imaging and its activities have been employed by cities marketing. This paper concludes by the as marketing tools, viz. civic boosterism, suggestion that building and maintaining place marketing, city branding, destination the synergy between the government, the marketing,sellingplaces andcity imaging/ private sector and the people is essential re-imaging (Smith, 2005). The role of city for the city's heritage tourism industry. marketing has been heightened globally by, inter alia, global competition between The nature of city marketing cities, tourism and urban management. Marketing concepts have permeated Interchangeable with place marketing, across a number of disciplines thus city marketing is defined as "the adaptation resultingin a burgeoningliteratureoffering of the traditional model of Marketillg's 4p's variou