Published on : Thursday, August 16, 2018
Training for the first batch of 26 locals in the Selangor Community Host Programme, is all prepared to conclude in September. It has four parts, each spanning four days across five months. It all culminates in a written examination which candidates will have to qualify to get a certificate from the Department of Skills Development.
Also, the certificate is recognised by Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Tourism Selangor.
Tourism Selangor general manager, Noorul Ashikin Mohd Din, stated that the pilot was proposed to groom the experts of the community with knowledge of the history, culture, heritage, local food and the rich stories in their areas.
Also, the project will have a social impact, assisting the rural communities to earn additional income while guiding and showcasing cottage industry products and local craft products.
Tourism Selangor will simultaneously help them to market their services via its website, and the local experts can broker guiding arrangements with inbound agents, as explained by Noorul.
She also shared that Tourism Selangor is all geared up to launch the training programme to four other districts in Selangor, namely Ulu Langat, Gombak, Ulu Selangor and Kuala Langat.
To quote Azizi Borhan, managing director, Asutra Convex, “Local community guides is not a new idea. It is practised in other countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Brazil, where local guides… take over (from) tourist guides (when the tour) reaches their areas of specialisation.”
Tags: Tourism Selangor