KOTA KINABALU - Cheap packages offered by illegal tour operators in Sabah have sparked fears it will hurt the industry which is a cash cow for the state.
Sabah Backpackers Operators Association (SBOA) president Richie Lee highlighted this recently, describing illegal tour operators as “a time bomb waiting to explode”.
He said the increased enforcement over the past one year by the Tourism and Culture Ministry had fail to curb the issue, urging the relevant authorities to bring the effort to another level.
“The existing enforcement is not powerful and effective enough.
“Apart from increasing such efforts, authorities must come up with effective and long-term solutions to save our tourism industry,” he said in a statement.
Lee said there had been repetitive incidents where illegal tour operators had cheated tourists and were involved in accidents while ferrying tourists —uninsured — around the state.
He then called for the authorities, particularly the ministry, to take immediate action against these offenders and implement stringent measures to protect the industry and tourists.
Lee claimed there had not been many efforts taken to create awareness amongst tourists and the public regarding problems caused by illegal tour operators.
He added operations must be carried out at several hotspots throughout Sabah, mostly at the entry points such as airports where illegal operators were seen poaching for tourists, offering to transport them to established accommodations while selling cheap tour packages.
Unfortunately, Lee lamented, tourists who paid for their attractive offers would later come up empty-handed.
“These opportunists are like a time bomb. Accidents and cheating will happen more rampantly. Already we have a handful of illegal operators and they are mushrooming every day.
“Their numbers keep growing.”
Lee said failure to contain these illegal activities would negate efforts by the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry. - Therakyatpost
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