Tour guide exemption call

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) has called on the Tourism and Culture Ministry to decide on the call by local tour operators and travel agents to quash the requirement for a tour guide on every tour bus.
"The industry needs to move forward for the benefit of all stakeholders and this matter has been dragging on for too long," Matta president Hamzah Rahmat said in a statement today.
"With the relatively good knowledge of the country among locals, it is redundant to provide a tour guide for domestic tours for Malaysians," said its vice-president (ground transportation) Jaya Kumar.
"The rules should allow room for flexibility and versatility in deploying tour guides. Not a one-size fits-all kind of hard and fast rule," he added.
Matta vice-president (Inbound) K. L. Tan said: "The calls for a review of the Tourism Vehicles Licensing Act 1999 are necessary due to the changing business environment.
"Let the consumers decide whether they require guide services or otherwise. There are numerous requests from tourists, especially domestic packages, to waive the requirement of tourist guides during excursions."
He said it was ridiculous to have a tourist guide for a five-minute airport transfer to hotel.
"However, the current legislation requires that tour buses shall use the services of a licensed tourist guide," Tan added.
He also urged the tourist guide industry to upgrade their level of services and encourage more foreign language speaking guides rather than depending on outdated mandatory guidelines for their livelihood.
"On behalf of our 3,000 members, representing the bulk of the industry players, we cannot support the existing rules and regulations governing tourism vehicles and the industry," Hamzah said, adding that if left unaddressed, the impracticality of the rules and regulations could drastically reduce the healthy dynamism in the industry and consequently, its growth and development.