Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah
KOTA BARU: The Kelantan State Licensed Tour Guide Association has welcomed the government's move to allow Thailand-based tour buses to enter Malaysia.
Its secretary Mohd Norisham Muhammad said the association hoped that the move would provide an opportunity to the licensed tour guides from the state to provide its services.
"With this approval, the association hopes that it will enable all our 39 members to give their services to the Thai tour bus operators according to the regulations set by the Tourism, Arts, and Culture Ministry," he said.
Mohd Norisham said the association also hoped that the Transport ministry would co-operate with the Tourism ministry for enforcement on the tourist guides in the Thai tour buses.
"We also would like to express our full support on the ban on Thai tourist vans that bring in tourists from Thailand without using a tour guide from Malaysia.
"This will affect the income of local tourist van operators if this ban is not implemented," he added.
It was reported yesterday that Thailand-based tour bus operators planning to bring tourists into Malaysia must obtain approval from the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad).
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said these operators are required to apply for temporary permits before entering Malaysia.
Conversely, he said Thai van operators are prohibited from entering Malaysia to prevent potential disruptions to the industry.
He said this ban would remain in place due to concerns about these operators picking up local passengers and even transporting them to Kuala Lumpur upon entering Malaysia.