Penang island's tourism industry has been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Penang Association of Tourism Attraction (Atap) president Chng Huck Theng said 70 per cent of its 60 members had either suspended or ceased operations.
Chng said 30 to 45 members with tourist attraction businesses had been badly affected by the prolonged closures.
"These are established and internationally known tourist attractions, such as Dark Mansion Museum and Tropical Fruit Farm.
"Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm was the latest to go into hibernation, or temporary closure.
"A few days ago, Tropical Spice Garden went on social media to ask for help, as it has to maintain operations with zero income.
"Our attractions are not only parks, but also theme museums, boutique cafes and malls."
Operators have had to fork out a huge amount of money for maintenance, even after retrenching staff, he said.
"We have been overlooked for far too long.
"All of us, including other tour-ist attraction spots in Malaysia, are on the verge of dying if we don't get help," he told the New Straits Times recently.
Chng said Atap had objected to the government's decision to limit tourism activities to only hotels and homestay operators for states under Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan.
He said tourism without visiting tourist attractions did not make sense.
However, he said he was not calling for tourist attractions to be reopened.
"It is important for the government to give us a roadmap of where we are heading.
"For example, in Phase 2, we reopen hotels and homestays, and in Phase 3, we reopen other places.
"We need hope now so that we can continue to be positive.
"By giving us a plan, the government will not only save tourist attractions, but also operators' livelihood.
"If the tourist attraction industry collapses, it will affect staff, stakeholders and suppliers.
"We were one of the tourism industry's priorities as we were once the biggest revenue generator.
"But I doubt if we are still looked at that way now.
"The government should consider allowing outdoor attractions to be reopened, with standard operating procedures in place.
"Indoor attractions can follow suit when the Covid-19 situation improves.
"We have expressed our concerns and asked for help, even to the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry. But we have not received a response.
"It is crucial for the government to give us a Covid-19 exit plan, so that we can prepare to reopen our businesses."
Apart from tourist attractions, tour guides are also hanging by a thread.
With no foreign and domestic tourists, guides had been adversely affected, and several tour agencies had closed their businesses, said Penang Tourist Guide Association vice-president Clement Liang.
He said tour guides had opted to seek other work, such as being Grab drivers.
"We have generated zero income during this pandemic. There is no other way but to give up tour agencies and do other jobs.
"It's a bleak future as we do not know when we will get to operate again.
"We can only hope that the pandemic will end soon."