Ruling on foreign guides slammed

The Malaysian tourism ministry?s decision to allow foreign tourist guides from South Korea, Japan, Russia and Iran to operate in the country from October (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 14) would lead to fewer jobs for local players, said the trade.

Imran Bala, Selangor Tourist Guide Association treasurer and director of continuous tourism-related education, said: ?There are not enough assignments as it is now. Who will monitor whether these foreign guides are giving the right information? The ministry should keep to the status quo where a tour leader acts as interpreter between the licensed guide and the foreign tourists.?

The move, which aims to ease the shortage of guides conversant in these languages, has tour operators jittery as well.

Grace Holidays general manager Godwin Miranda believed local guides would always trump foreign ones in product and destination knowledge. He also worried about communication problems between foreign guides and local coach drivers who may not speak English. Miranda suggested the ministry hold a dialogue with local operators on a ?workable solution?.

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association vice president domestic, Dr Lian Lip Fong, said the ministry should encourage
Malaysians fluent in these languages to take up guiding.

Tourism minister, Dr Ng Yen Yen, said the ministry would try out the new guiding scheme for a year before deciding on its fate.

Ministry records show 6,000 licensed tourist guides in Malaysia, including 17 Russian-speaking, 29 Korean-speaking and fewer than 50 Iranian- and Japanese-speaking tour guides. The ministry will issue licences to foreign guides as and when tour operators signify a need.

Dr Yen said: ?If local guides do not upgrade themselves, they must face competition from outside. It is that simple.?

Sourced=ttgasia