The information board at the Ipoh Railway Station Square that has faded due to lack of maintenance. — RONNIE CHIN/The Star
THE relevant authorities must do more to make Perak more friendly to foreign tourists, says Perak Tourism Association chairman Datuk Mohd Odzman Abdul Kadir.
This includes taking stock of all the information boards and signboards in tourist areas, to see if they are available in dual languages.
This, he said, would be helpful to foreign tourists who may be at a loss when faced with signs only in Bahasa Malaysia (BM), or in some cases, Chinese.
“I believe most of the signboards in heritage areas are available in BM and English.
“However, I think it would be better to just go around to ensure these information boards are tourist-friendly,” he told StarMetro.
“We must also check to ensure the information does not have grammatical errors, as it could blemish our image,” he added.
Mohd Odzman also called on the authorities to repair or replace the information board at the Ipoh Railway Station Square that had mostly faded.
“Last time I visited the area, the information could no longer be read. I think the board was not properly maintained,” he added.
Mohd Odzman says the local authorities need to figure out solutions with all stakeholders
He also said that the state government and local council needed to work together to resolve issues.
“They need to collaborate and help each other instead of pushing responsibilities to another party.
“If they ever need help from non-governmental organisations, just reach out as we are more than willing to help,” he said.
“If they need information on some heritage buildings, they can always reach out to the heritage societies.
“The societies would have books with relevant information to help them,” he added.
Mohd Odzman also believed that information could be better disseminated to foreign tourists.
“We have a lot of activities and eateries that are great but there are still people who do not know about them.”
On the subject of tourists having difficulty travelling around by bus which required Touch N’ Go cards, Mohd Odzman admitted that the requirement was a hassle as it was not easy to buy the cards.
“It’s not only foreigners who find it hard to buy; even some locals I know don’t know where or how to get them.
“Topping up the TnG card is also difficult for senior citizens, especially, as some machines at petrol stations or convenience shops are not working,” he said.
“I hope the government will check all the necessary facilities to ensure these are available and in working order.”
Tourist information centres in Ipoh, he said, needed to be equipped with all the information on the city’s activities and attractions, including how to get there, to assist travellers better.
“I also believe an information centre should be set up at the Ipoh Railway Station, as many tourists use the trains or Electric Train Service (ETS) and it is the first place they see in Ipoh.”
Perak tourism committee chairman Loh Sze Yee said tourist spot operators have been advised to provide information regarding their products or location in English for foreign tourists.
Loh says public transport must also be tourist-friendly.
“We did ask them to provide information on signboards in English.
“We have also asked them to consider putting up QR codes, which tourists can scan with their mobile phones to obtain information,” he said.
Due to space constraints, he said information boards at some locations did not have multiple languages.
“We hope more operators would heed our advice to have multilingual information boards as the multilingual aspect of Malaysians is what makes the country unique,” added Loh.
“I agree that there can be some improvement but I also think that we are doing better than a lot of other countries in the region,” he added.
On the public transportation system, Loh said he would bring the matter up with the Transport Ministry.
“I will inform the ministry and related agencies to make our public transport more tourist-friendly.
“The ministry is doing a lot of upgrading works, especially on the railroads, and I believe they will strive for future improvements.”
On the possibility of having travel cards for tourists, Loh said this was also under the purview of the Federal Government.
“This can be done under the guidelines set by the ministry.
“As for the parking issue in Ipoh, I will discuss with the local council to look into this, and hopefully we can see some improvements,” added Loh. – By ANNABELLE LAWRENCE and IVAN LOH
