Tourist guides petition for scrapping compulsory course for licence renewal

KUCHING: Licensed tourist guides want the mandatory Continuing Tourism Related Education (CTRE) courses required for licence renewal scrapped, citing significant challenges faced within the industry.

A registered tourist guide, Lim An Kok, penned a letter to Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, stressing the difficulties faced by the tourist guides.

“While ongoing education within tourism is vital for professional growth, the obligatory CTRE course has become a source of frustration for many seasoned guides,” he said during an interview today.

Highlighting their plight, Lim said each tourist guide must possess a CTRE certificate for licence renewal. These sessions, organised annually in batches of three, entail a duration of at least half a day and incur a fee of RM50 per session.

The compulsory course clashes with prior guiding commitments, especially for full-time guides affiliated with companies, necessitating specific leave requests to attend these courses.

Acknowledging the importance of staying abreast of the latest developments in the tourism industry and enhancing their knowledge base, Lim said the mandatory nature of the course has become outdated and burdensome in the digital era where information is readily accessible.

“While we recognise the significance of continuous learning, in today’s digital landscape where information is easily available, the compulsion for this course during licence renewal has become obsolete,” he added.

Lim stressed that the course should be optional for those keen on voluntarily enriching their knowledge rather than a mandatory prerequisite for license renewal.