Monday, August 08, 2011

Ruling over Sabah tourism guides will be reviewed


KOTA KINABALU: Tourist guides in Sabah can heave a sigh of relief now that the Tourism Ministry has agreed to review a new ruling that has put them under duress.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the ministry would look into the requests in terms of combining the badges of city and nature guides.

“This makes sense and I will speak to the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun and the Sabah Tourism Board to ensure the new directive in the state is appropriate,” she said.

There are three types of guides – tourist, city and nature guides. In the peninsula, more city guides are needed to bring guests on city-related excursions.

“Almost 80% of guides in the peninsula are city guides and the remainder in eco-tourism, but in Sabah it is the reverse. We understand the uniqueness of Sabah,” Ng said, adding that the ministry hoped to resolve the matter and have a new guideline in place by October.

However, there will be no change to the specialist guides such as those bringing guests to Mount Kinabalu, the nation’s highest mountain.

Members of the Sabah Tourist Guides Association recently voiced their frustration over the ruling that restricted the movements of guides in Sabah, thus, affecting their rice bowl.

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