LANGKAWI, 11 Oct 2018:
Langkawi tourism industry players are pouring cold water on Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry’s proposal to have staggered holidays – to reduce overcrowding at tourism spots.
Langkawi Business Association (NiagaKawi) deputy president Datuk Alexander Isaac shot down the proposal as a bad idea since it would not gel with plans by families or relatives living in different regions to spend holidays together.
“The (school holiday) system now is quite good. In fact, Thailand did try staggered school holidays quite sometime ago and it failed.”
Langkawi Tourism Association (LTA) chief executive officer Zainudin Kadir also voiced the association’s disagreement with the proposal, saying the current school holiday system should not be blamed for overcrowding.
“Langkawi being a tourism destination had never experienced a genuine overcrowded situation all this while, and even if there had been congestions taking place here and there, it happened due to unforeseen transportation failures or infrastructure system.”
Zainudin said tourism hotspots in Malaysia had yet to reach the level enjoyed by places like Phuket in Thailand or Bali (Indonesia), where they received consistent influx of tourists throughout the year.
“For the Langkawi industry players, their real working period would only be around six months in a year and staggered school holidays could affect their business sustainability.”
Langkawi Tourism Industry Organisation president Ahmad Phisol Ishak said the staggered school holiday proposal should not be implemented as a “one size fits all” solution.
He said overcrowding in tourism spots was not the real problem faced by the industry, which was still looking at luring more tourists, both domestic and foreign.
“What can be applied in Europe or the United States might not necessarily be applicable in our country and I believe our tourists spots are still having more than enough capacity to handle bigger crowds.”
Reacting to the proposal by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry – which had reportedly prepared a working paper on the matter – other stakeholders, including educators and parents, had expressed mixed tractions to the idea.
“If implemented, it will be a problem for the pupils and teachers themselves. For example, family members working in different states will find it difficult to harmonise their holidays properly to come together or to organise a programme,’’said Pahang Council of Principals president Mohd Ariffin Ab Rahman in Kuantan.
Kuantan district education officer Razali Mustafa also drew attention to the difficulties in organising events, such as national-level sports tournaments, if school holidays are not the same.
In George Town, school teacher Siti Fatimah Mohamad Anwar, 38, disagreed with the proposal. She said it would disrupt the learning process in terms of the need to fulfil the syllabus before the examination.
For journalist, V. Nagendran, 51, school holidays being not uniform between states would make it difficult to organise events like wedding feasts or other functions to enable families and friends to come together.
“There are also parents whose children go to school in different states, it will be difficult for them to meet if their school holidays are not at the same time, it can indirectly cause relationships to slacken,” he said in Seremban.
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ugama (Perempuan) Alawiyah, Kangar Parents-Teachers Association (PIBG) president Dr Abdul Jalil Ramli said the best school holidays should take into account all parties such as working parents and school children to be on holiday simultaneously.
National Parent-Teacher Association Sarawak president Wan Zain Syed Mohdzar expected that if the proposal was implemented, the cost of travelling would be higher as tourism industry operators might raise prices at all times, compared to seasonal currently.
Meanwhile, a secondary school teacher in Alor Setar, who only wanted to be known as Balqis, said the proposed staggered school holidays would be a constraint to married couples living far apart to holiday together.
“Indeed, it is difficult for people with long distance relationships. Because their holiday dates are not the same. One is on school holiday, the other goes to school … (the proposal) there are pros and cons to change from what is normal.”
Private sector worker Zainudin Ali, 53, who agreed with the proposal, said: “When staggered school holidays are implemented, the problem of traffic congestion can be reduced and we are able to take a quieter and more relaxing vacation as there is no need for a crowded tourist presence in a particular area. “
Johor’s SMK Puteri Wangsa Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) president Rahilah Abdullah argued that the cost of a holiday would fall if the proposed staggered school holidays was accepted while tourist spots would not be too crowded to visit.
National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) president Kamarozaman Abd Razak suggested the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Education conduct joint studies to identify the effectiveness of the proposal.
National Parents-Teachers Association Consultative Council (PIBGN) associate professor Datuk Dr Mohamad Ali Hassan said among the matters that needed to be studied involved programmes and activities at the national level that had been jointly drawn up with schools in different states.
– Bernama