LETTER | Recently, a couple was arrested for cheating. The victim paid online for booking a homestay at Jalan Pasir Panjang in Kuala Terengganu, only to discover later that the facility was non-existent.
This prompted the state Culture and Digital Technology Committee deputy chairperson Sulaiman Sulong to issue a statement advising tourists planning to holiday in Terengganu to obtain tourism services through licensed agents.
Sulaiman said guides on tourist destinations are available from the State Tourism Development Department’s social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
He added that the list of licensed tourism agents can also be found on the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) website.
This advice may be well-intentioned but is of little help. It also shows the disconnect between those perched on the top in the tourism sector, with what is really happening on the ground.
To begin with, the main reason most tourists choose homestays over licensed hotels is that they wish to pay less for similar accommodation.
And unlike the Malaysia Homestay Programme hosted by Motac, ordinary homestays are unlicensed and unregistered, with operators advertising online or placing small signages by the roadside. Such homestays are unlikely to be listed on the websites of Motac or a state government agency.
And neither would registered tourism agents be selling unlicensed homestays as companies regulated under the “Tour Operating Business and Travel…
