GEORGE TOWN: Netizens are divided over a report by American daily newspaper, USA Today, which ranked Penang Hill as the top tourist trap in Asia and ninth worldwide.
While some said the people should not read too much into the ranking, others claimed the famed hill had unfortunately lost its lustre over the last few years.
Chua Teck Boon said the people need not take the Americans seriously if their findings said otherwise.
Calvin Pang said it was merely a feedback.
"Whether correct or not, we can listen, investigate and see whether there can be improvements.
"There will be no progress if we stop taking feedback and only want to hear compliments," he said.
Daniel Cheah said Penang should actually thank USA Today for the free publicity.
He said although it might sound negative, it might actually help boost tourism due to their curiosity as to how bad a tourist trap it is.
Cheah said he personally liked Penang Hill.
Meanwhile, Adrian Paul Raj said the summit of Penang Hill had unfortunately lost its lustre over the last few years.
He said the only thing worth doing still was hiking up the hill and being close to the green of the hill.
"So, I'd say skip the train, bring your own food and drink and enjoy what nature has given us," he said.
Catten Huss noted that he had visited Penang Hill twice.
"Yet, I dont see anything really impressive at all. Cameron Highland far better then Penang Hill," he said.
Shad Ower commented: "We went there, saw the queue, had a good laugh, and promised ourselves never to return unless they fix the long waiting time up and down, which probably meant they never will. Haha, your loss!"
It was reported that the famed Penang Hill had been listed among the Top 100 tourist traps worldwide.
It came in ninth in a list compiled by USA Today and the top tourist trap in Asia.
Eight of the top 10 tourist traps in the world are in the US while another two are in Rovaniemi and Santa Claus Village in Lapland, Finland.
The Four Corners Monument (in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah) is the No 1 tourist trap in the world while the Blue Lagoon in Iceland is the top tourist trap in Europe.
State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the review had an inherent limitation to it.
He said since 1923, 47 million visitors had visited Penang Hill, or more than one million annual visitors, and many of them were returning visitors which showed that they were attracted to the charm of Penang Hill.
"The number of visitors speaks for itself.
"Having said that, the Penang government will always look for improvement and a new cable car project is already in the pipeline.
"This will give tourists a new experience in the future," he said.