Sibu rapped for non availability of brochures with maps

THE Sarawak Tourism Board, Sibu Branch has come under fire from tourists and tourism industry players.

There have been complaints that brochures containing the map of Sibu were unavailable and Sarawak Central Region Hotel Association chairman Johnny Wong is baffled as well as embarrassed by this.

“To my knowledge, the STB office here has been without the brochures for some two years now.

“Hotel guests especially tourists have time and again voiced their displeasure over this. I really don’t know how to answer them,” he lamented.

Wong said he had brought up this issue with the STB office but until now, nothing had been done.

“I was told that there are no brochures (with maps of Sibu) at the office because students have been taking them for their school projects.

“By right, the brochures should be given to those who really need them such as tourists. There should be a strict control so that the brochures don’t run out,” he suggested.

He hoped that this matter would be looked into as soon as possible “or else hoteliers in Sibu could see dwindling guests”.

Hotels here, he said, used to receive brochures but that was years ago as now almost all did not have them.

“Sibu really needs a brochure (with a proper map) showing places of interest, government agency offices, hotels and so on.”

In the meantime, he advised local travel agents to print their own maps instead of waiting for stock at the STB to be replenished.

At a meeting last week, Sibu Municipal Council councillor Abang Iskandar Abang Latip said the town had five-star toilets “but we can’t even have a proper map of Sibu”.

He was even more shocked that the Tourism Guide Book of Sibu did not even have a map of the town.

Meanwhile, STB corporate affairs director Angelina Batman said such maps were readily available at the Sibu office.

She said reports of their unavailability were not factual as there could be some misunderstanding.

Angelina said she and several STB officers would be coming to Sibu to talk to the council over the matter.