JOHOR BARU: Malaysia has more than enough Chinese-speaking tour guides to accommodate the significant rise in the number of visitors from China, says the Malaysian Tourist Guides Council.

Its president Jimmy Leong said there has been a notable surge in the number of tourists from China following the implementation of the 30-day visa-free policy.

Despite initial concerns about a potential tour guide shortage, particularly during Chinese New Year, the council has successfully matched tour groups with suitable guides.

“Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing issued a directive to set up a meeting to address the matter when the concerns were raised.

“We are able to accommodate the demand so far,” said Leong, who also serves as the Johor Tourist Guides Association chairman.

He added that more than simply being adequate, there is actually an oversupply of Chinese-speaking tour guides in Malaysia.

However, the industry is facing a shortage of English-speaking tour guides, he noted.

“The education system now is such that there are more people who are proficient in Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin but there is a shortage for those who are proficient in English.

“While these languages are important for us to accommodate demand from tourists, there are concerns on how it would impact the availability of English-speaking tour guides in the future,” said Leong.

“We have started seeing this in Johor when we conduct educational tours for school groups coming from Singapore,” he said.

Leong added that the country has also seen a steady rise in the number of Indian visitors following a similar initiative that provides 30-day visa-free travel.

“A majority of tour groups from India prefer to have guides who are proficient in English, with only a small percentage requiring Tamil or Hindi-speaking guides.”

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/26/no-shortage-of-chinese-speaking-guides-for-tourists