By YS Chan
In Malaysia, anyone wishing to operate a travel agency or tour company must obtain a licence under the Tour Operating Business and Travel Agency Business (Tobtab) regulations, or take over a business from among the more than 5,000 currently registered with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
Currently, there are three main types of Tobtab licences.
In the past, new players were granted the “inbound” licence only, which allows the company to accept bookings from incoming tourists before their arrival to Malaysia, sell domestic tour packages to both Malaysians and foreigners in the country for travel within Malaysia, and operate tour buses/vans or car rental service after obtaining permits for individual vehicles.
Many new enterprises were eager to offer packaged tours to overseas and applied for the “outbound” licence the moment they became eligible.
Most outbound operators conduct escorted group tours with scheduled departures in a series. Bigger tour companies also organise incentive tours for large groups that can number several hundred or thousands of qualifiers.
The third category is “Travel Agency Business”, formerly known as “ticketing”, where travel agencies would act as agents for principals such as airlines and hotels and used to play a pivotal role until the advent of the internet.
Travel agent is a generic name used by both the industry and public for referring to firms or staff in the travel and tour business.
Many of these companies incorporate “Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd” in their names and hold all three Tobtab licences. Not long ago, successful new applicants were granted all three licences upon approval even if they had applied for only one.
Before new Tobtab licences are issued, candidates are required to attend a “Travel & Tours Management Course”. During training, those with little clue of the travel business dropped their jaws when I pointed out the many risks and opportunities.
Also, travel agents could act as intermediaries that provide value-added services or be just another layer of cost as middlemen.
Post-pandemic, they ought to reinvent themselves. Forty-five years ago, I worked as a Tours Coordinator with an inbound operator and handwrote letters confirming service arrangements to be typed and sent via snail mail to overseas tour companies.
Today, we could use WhatsApp to communicate with others globally through voice, texts, pictures, videos, or video calls. While communications have been transformed beyond imagination, the role of travel agents remained largely the same over the past decades.
Sadly, many will no longer be around or thrive post pandemic if they plan to continue dishing out more of the same. But since the movement control order (MCO) was introduced on Mar 18, there were plenty of opportunities to unlearn and relearn what they know, and to upskill and reskill.
To reinvent their business, they ought to re-explore a whole new world transformed by the pandemic and rebuild their business models.
If a training workshop for travel agents were to be conducted by a competent facilitator, participants could be coaxed to throw out crazy ideas for argument sake in brainstorming sessions. Ideas that appear weak, weird or wild initially may later turn out to be gems.
For inbound tour operators, instead of continuing to rely only on piecemeal bookings from their overseas counterparts and sales generated via websites or social media, they could also explore tapping into the much bigger market of independent travellers that have not been making use of services offered by travel agents.
A large tour company or a consortium of smaller ones could pool their resources together and hire technical experts to help develop a “One Pass” that can be used not just for transport by train, bus, taxi or e-hailing but also at hotels, restaurants, shops, attractions, entertainment spots and for sightseeing within the city or excursions to another.
Utilizing QR codes, the pass could easily be distributed and used at countless number of participating service providers.
For example, they could be sold at say RM199 per day on twin sharing basis and registered users may opt for any form of land transport within the city, a hotel room for the night including breakfast the next morning, a buffet or set meal for lunch or dinner, entrance tickets to many attractions, free gifts at selected shops and entertainment spots, join sightseeing tours, excursions, adventures, and many other activities.
Some tourists may exceed the value of the pass while others will underutilise. The former will enjoy their stay to the hilt while the latter is happy with the convenience and facilities.
By closely tracking tourists’ activities, it could decipher the science and master the art of travel business, and not rely on assumptions or gut feelings.
For example, e-hailing companies such as Uber and Grab may have lost billions, but they are still worth a lot more as the valuation of a company can also be based on future potential earnings.
Entrepreneurs, including travel agents, may have to turn to new business models if they desire to go big or excel in the trade. But first, they need to re-explore a whole new world. – Dec 21, 2020
YS Chan is Asean Tourism Master Trainer for travel agencies, master trainer for Travel & Tours Enhancement Course and Mesra Malaysia (both programmes under Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture). He is also a tourism and transport industry consultant and writer.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
