Jafry presenting a memento to Tiong.
KOTA KINABALU: Issues of illegal tour guides, jetties, standard operating procedures of tour-related activities as well as safety of tourists will be among the main focus of the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment ministry.
Its minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said these were some of the matters raised during a recent meeting with Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister (Motac) Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
“The meeting was to address pressing issues and discuss strategic plans on developing the state tourism sector,” he said in a statement on Saturday (Dec 20).
Jafry said the safety of tourists, adherence to SOPs for tour boats, scuba diving and water sports, infrastructure that are old and could affect the safety of visitors needed to be taken more seriously.
“Matters on licensing and permits involving unlicensed and illegal tourist operators and guides, abuse of licenses, operating without legal permits, promotional packages by illegal operators and the unclear status of hotels and resorts were also deliberated on,” he said.
Other than that, they were looking closely at activities such as water sports, illegal boat operation, unregistered jetties, abuse of social visit passes, operation on prohibited areas, collection of illegal island entries and many other unauthorised operations, he said.
In response, Motac expressed its willingness to work with the state ministry in terms of better enforcement of laws, coordination of licensing matters, sharing of information and implementing strategic promotional initiatives to help boost tourism in Sabah.
