M’sians want Google to highlight sites less travelled for Street View project

PETALING JAYA: Google should go off the beaten track from well-known tourist spots for its project to record Malaysian sites on its Google Map Street View, say local tourism industry members.

Friends of Malacca Museum chairman Shaukani Abbas said although most visitors would have flocked to tourist spots like A’Famosa and Dutch Square and suggested that out of town areas get more exposure. “Places like Sungai Rambai and Ayer Keroh can show another face of Malaysia’s countryside with their padi fields, traditional villages and cottage industries. “Nowadays, tourists often travel by themselves instead of in tour groups, so it would be useful to record these less travelled areas,” he said.

Sarawak Tourism Federation president Audry Wan Ullok said the project was a good effort by Tourism Malaysia to help highlight new tourism products. “We will get our industry members to vote online and recommend places of interest which they think should be recorded as well. “I think Kuching city would be a good fit for the project. “It’s quaint and small enough for tourists to walk through and can be well documented by the Street View trike,” she said.

Avid jogger Suren Haris, 31, said having a street view of Kuala Lumpur would be useful for both tourist and locals to explore the city on foot. “Many places in the city like the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park and Planetarium are overlooked by locals who take them for granted. “I don’t see the value of recording places like KLCC that have been photographed thousands of times already,” he said.

Google is collaborating with Tourism Malaysia to record uniquely Malaysian locations to be featured on its street view map. The public has until the end of the month to vote under historical, tourism, cultural, urban architecture and nature or suggest other locations on the poll at maps.google.com.my/svtrike.

A Google Malaysia spokesperson said measures were put in place to protect the results from being tampered with, adding that the tabulated results would then be shared with Tourism Malaysia. “This is just the beginning of what we hope will be a long-term project to put more of Malaysia on Google Street View,” he said.

-thestar online.