Fewer complaints, thanks to tour industry’s new merit system

JOHOR BARU: Complaints against the tourism industry have dipped since April when the Tourism Ministry introduced a merit and demerit system for visitors to rate them. Most of the complaints were against tour operators. Others were against hotels, tourist vehicles and tour guides as well as general complaints, said ministry licensing division secretary Kudratullah Fatimy Affandi. The complaints include services that were not up to mark, visitors feeling short-changed and promises of five-star accommodation not met when visitors were placed in three-star hotels. “The industry players know that if they perform poorly under the system, they will have their licence revoked,” he told reporters after a meeting with tourism players in Johor here yesterday.

Currently, 3,657 licences have been issued to tour operators and their branches nationwide. “The ministry also approved licenses for 9,699 tour buses and 25,800 hire-and-drive cars,” he said, adding that the ministry was strict in ensuring that the licences issued to an operator were not rented out to others. He said that from 2011, the regulating au­­tho­rity for tourist buses and rented cars would be the Public Land Transport Commission. Kudratullah said there were 348 complaints in 2008 and 293 last year.

Up to September, there were 211 complaints, of which only 21 were from foreign visitors. The rest were from local tourists. Kudratullah said complaints were sent to the ministry via letters, e-mails and SMS. “We take each complaint seriously and investigate them. “We take action if we find irregularities, especially cheating,” he said, adding that 118 applications for licences by industry players were rejected so far this year. Asked about the merit system, he said points were tabulated at the end of the year. “If an operator does not meet the minimum requirement under the system, we will take action,” he said, adding that those who performed well were rewarded in the form of awards from the ministry.
-thestar online.