By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, May 2: The ‘1st ASEAN Tourist Guides Conference’ is scheduled to be held this Oct 24–26 at Imperial Hotel Kuching on Jalan Datuk Tawi Sli here.
Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts (MTCP) Sarawak Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said tour guides are storytellers who possess historical and cultural knowledge about destinations, provide personalised experiences, and bridge language and cultural gaps.
“Most of all, they ensure safety and security. Technology and independence cannot offer this level of travel experience and human interaction and it is important to keep it alive,” he told reporters at the ‘1st ASEAN Tourist Guides Conference’ press conference held today at his ministry’s office here.
Furthermore, Sarawak Tourist Guides Association (STGA) honorary chairman Edwin Lim said as travel services digitalise, certain aspects of the travel and tour industry are declining.
“It is a wake-up call that tour guides must grow with technology, emphasise the strengths of the tour-guiding community and collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we remain thriving in the face of technology and changing consumer choices.
“Other challenges that we face as tour guides include sustaining during off-peak seasons and how to support younger guides into the career.
“By gathering key players at the ‘1st ASEAN Tourist Guides Conference’, we hope to unite as a global community and transform the tourism landscape,” Lim said.
STGA is hosting the conference.
According to a press handout from Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak), the conference’s key message is ‘Togetherness in Tour Guiding Excellence’, which emphasises a collaborative approach to elevating travel experiences and securing a stronger future for tour guide communities in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
BESarawak highlighted that one of the key topics to be discussed at the ‘1st ASEAN Tourist Guides Conference’ is how tour guides can grow with the digital transformation era and make a positive change in the regional tour guiding community.
The press handout also mentioned that the conference is intended to assist the Sarawak government in its tourism development plans as part of Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030.
Also present at the press conference were MTCP Sarawak Deputy Minister Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew and MTCP Sarawak permanent secretary Datu Sherrina Hussaini. — DayakDaily
