LETTER | Banning shopping in sightseeing tours could backfire

LETTER | When launching Tomei's 55th-anniversary celebrations on Feb 10, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing decreed that itineraries for tour groups must include as many local attractions as possible, and to exclude shopping stops.

He was reported to have said, "We will issue a circular that travel agents are not allowed to take visitors shopping (at specific shopping outlets) in the (travel) itinerary. We will call travel agents for a meeting and implement the circular soon.”

He added: "The Tourism Ministry will take the necessary action if you continue to include hopping trips (in the itinerary). If tourists want to shop, they can make their own decisions and choices."

Sending tour groups for shopping is taboo and had remained in the backburner ever since the Tour Operating Business and Travel Agency Business (TOBTAB) regulations were enacted together with the establishment of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism in 1987.

The various travel trade associations are now caught in a dilemma between the good intentions of the Tourism Ministry and the livelihood of its members. It would be interesting to see how well they handle this hot potato, as income from shopping commissions could be substantial.

As tour operators could be hauled up for pocketing shopping commissions, they are likely to be muted. But a total ban is unnecessary and could even backfire. If not coerced to buy, many visitors enjoy shopping, as this activity could be more satisfying than just sightseeing.

Understand the fundamentals

Painting the issue with a broad brush is certainly expedient but our tourism industry has much to gain by developing shopping holistically. But first, we need to understand the fundamentals and the various types of services that could be offered by licensed travel and tour companies.

There are two main types of licences for “Tour Operating Business”, one for inbound and the other for outbound. Those with an inbound licence may apply for individual vehicle permits to operate tour buses/vans, and those with an outbound licence may apply for Lesen Khas Umrah.

Inbound tour operators are permitted to receive advance bookings before incoming passengers enter our country and also offer their services to anyone already here for travel within Malaysia. Outbound tour operators could only offer travel services for anyone in the country.

There is only one type of “Travel Agency Business”, commonly known as “Ticketing”. As the name indicates, these companies are merely agents or intermediaries for principals such as airlines, cruises, hotels and theme parks by making reservations and issuing tickets or vouchers.

They may also act as agents for tour wholesalers but are not allowed to arrange or operate any inbound or outbound tours. To do these, they must be licensed for inbound or outbound.

Hence, the shopping controversy should only be directed at inbound tour operators, not travel agencies.

The most common services provided by inbound tour operators are airport transfers for arriving and departing passengers to and from hotels, half-day or full-day sightseeing tours in and around the city, and full-day excursions to another city or overland transfers to another destination.

Breach of contract

The routes, stops and timings are pre-planned and offered to customers who may be foreign outbound tour operators or domestic organisers. It is up to these customers to accept the recommended itineraries or make changes to them.

Once accepted, inbound tour operators cannot make unilateral changes as the agreed itineraries have been incorporated as part of the sales agreement between foreign outbound tour operators and incoming tourists, or between domestic organisers and passengers travelling in tour buses.

Any changes, including pulling out shopping stops or deviation, would be a breach of contract. Moreover, many Asians want convenience for shopping and do not wish to spend time and effort on their own searching for popular products as their prices are about the same everywhere.

While zero-cost tours ought to be banned, we should not be blindsided by them. They are sold at no or minimal tour fare with the hope that costs incurred by the outbound tour operator, tour leader, inbound tour operator and tourist guide could be recovered from shopping commissions.

Tourists opting for such bargain-priced packages end up in “forced shopping” tours where they are coerced to buy or continue to face humiliation throughout the tour. Worst, they are brought to dubious establishments selling inferior products at inflated prices instead of quality goods.

Some examples of both extremes can be found in Kuala Lumpur. Over the past decades, millions of visitors have been to the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre located at its present site at Setapak Jaya, housed within the sprawling factory compound with ample parking facilities.

Higher commissions

In the early 1970s, the visitor centre was in one of the old shophouses at Jalan Gombak before moving into a wooden building at Jalan Genting Klang. I was then a tourist guide and my first commission was 20 sen from Selangor Pewter. However, my main income came from tipping.

The hospitality of Royal Selangor was certainly memorable as visitors were served chilled ice cream soda in pewter cups. After witnessing how quality products were crafted, many visitors spent freely, convinced that fine pewterware is the souvenir that best represents Malaysia.

But for the sake of higher commissions, some tour operators bring their tour groups to other pewterware factories further away. If product samples from each factory are to be placed on different tables, you could easily tell the difference in quality just by looking from a distance.

This confirms that some tour operators could not care less whether their passengers are shown quality products, and this is most evident when tour groups are sent to dubious establishments that may look like ordinary warehouses and appear deserted, with gates closed most of the time.

But when a tour bus approaches, the gate and door will be swung open to let in passengers. The variety and value of products sold inside the air-conditioned warehouse could easily rival any street market, such as Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur, popularly known as Chinatown.

According to a recent report by the United States Trade Representative, Petaling Street is a well-known street market in Kuala Lumpur that sells large volumes of counterfeit items, including watches, shoes, handbags, wallets, sunglasses, and other consumer goods.

Street markets everywhere can be quite similar. Hence, any promotion by the ministry on Petaling Street should be limited to the foodstalls found not only on the street but also to include traditional businesses that have been operating inside the old shophouses for decades.

Novel ideas

Likewise, the ministry should promote instead of banning shopping, so that our tourism could develop to the next level and boost our nation’s economy, benefitting large and small businesses, including cottage and handicraft industries.

According to the 2019 Tourism Satellite Account, shopping accounted for 33.3 percent of RM89.4 billion in inbound tourism expenditure, and 42.1 percent of RM92.6 billion in domestic tourism expenditure.

Clearly, no other sector is as important to tourism as shopping, and increasing shopping activities would be the most effective way to boost tourism. Had I been engaged to conduct tourism labs, I would have offered many novel ideas for participants to explore and implement.

Although interstate travel restrictions were lifted from October 2021, tour buses had remained largely idled since the movement control order was introduced in March 2020, as our borders were only opened for leisure travel from April 2022 and Covid-19 restrictions eased in May.

This was because tour bus operators were only waiting for the return of foreign tourists but the estimated 9.7 million that came last year were mostly free or fully independent travellers that do not require the use of tour buses for airport transfers or sightseeing tours.

Nevertheless, hundreds of tour buses could have been busy running daily if operators had organised and offered shopping excursions to factory areas which are found nationwide.

Many of these factories or warehouses produce, process or store goods that are popular with shoppers.

Many consumers would be happy to pay at genuine factory prices bypassing middlemen and also getting to buy directly the freshest possible foods. The demand could be overwhelming if full-day excursion fares are capped at around RM30 to control bookings and with lunch provided.

Unlike overland tours, such as a day trip from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca, the itineraries offered by several tour operators are likely to be similar. But for shopping excursions, there could be many different routes departing from the same city and shoppers would be spoilt for choice.

For example, there are more than 3,000 factories in Balakong alone located in four industrial parks, namely Balakong Jaya, Selesa Jaya, Taming Jaya and Kampung Baru Balakong. If just 10 percent of them could accommodate and welcome visitors, the number will be 300.

As no more than 10 factories could be visited in a day, 30 different excursions could be organised requiring the utilisation of 30 tour buses daily just to cover Balakong. And nationwide, there is countless number of interesting factories and warehouses to visit.

Cottage and handicraft industries would receive the biggest boost if busloads of excursionists drop in to witness and appreciate how local products are made, and expenditures by many visitors would transform these industries, raising community-based tourism by several notches.

Now that shopping is in the limelight, the various travel associations should convince the Tourism Ministry not only to allow healthy shopping but also to seek blanket exemption for tourist guides in tour buses used for shopping excursions to ensure its affordability and practicality.

YS CHAN is a tourism and transport consultant and writer.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.