NST,Thursday 29 September, 2011
Malaysia will host the 46th United Federation of Travel Agents Association Congress next year.
This will be exactly 40 years after the 1972 Pacific Area Travel Association Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, which was a watershed in the local tourism industry.
Our government earmarked 2013 as the next Visit Malaysia Year. However, other countries may host similar events.
Therefore, the Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (Matta) ought to be congratulated for bringing the congress back to our shores so soon as it had hosted it before in 2002.
The size and influence of the association is enormous. Matta has 2,800 corporate members and it is just one of 100 national travel associations in the group.
Larger members of Matta are in the small- and medium-scale enterprise category. The travel industry is driven more by passion than professionalism.
MATTA members are mainly involved in airline ticketing, hotel reservations, outbound and inbound tours, rental of tour buses, vans and cars.
They are also involved in management of events such as meetings and conferences, and sale of cruises and other travel related services.
The government introduced licensing of tourist guides in 1975 and Tour Operating Business and Travel Agency Business regulations in 1986.
These measures ensured some control but there has not been much progress in the travel industry. Take road transport for example.
During the 1972 Pata Conference, the low-deck monocoque buses used were fitted with air-suspension. They were much more stable, solid, safer and comfortable than double-decker buses of today.
In 1975, the bus charter rate was RM500 per day and it has yet to double after 35 years whereas the prices of a new Mercedes–Benz car or a double-storey linked house have risen by more than 15 times.
Some of the licensing conditions for tour buses, vans and cars have been a hindrance to the industry and have not helped to raise safety standards or service quality.
Although MATTA engaged with the authorities and resolved some of the issues, thorny problems remained. This is hardly surprising as new officials tackled the old problems by starting from scratch..
It is well known that the most effective way to transform an industry or country is to raise the human capital through education and training.
If we remain complacent, other countries with citizens who are more willing to work, learn and embrace English will soon race past us.
Today, many tourist guides may have university qualifications, but I dare say that in 1975, when I was among the pioneer batch of licensed tourist guides, my English was better, although I studied only up to Form 5.
The first step in transforming the industry is to harness and compile ideas into a list.
The next step is to set policies on issues.
We will achieve a quantum leap when the authorities follow suit. Our aim of becoming a high-income nation will become a reality.
We have nothing much to show after forty years. For the love of our nation, let us do something concrete that will leave a legacy.
YS Chan
Kuala Lumpur
No comments:
Post a Comment