Don’t fall for low-priced travel packages — Satta
KOTA KINABALU: The public are urged not to fall for low-priced travel packages as they are most likely offered by illegal tour operators.
Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (SATTA) president Datuk Seri Winston Liaw reminded people not to look at the price as a determining factor when booking a tour, but to look at the package as a whole.
“All these con businesses are run by individuals who advertise on social media or go so far as to advertise in newspapers to solicit business, and their prices are always low compared to market price.
“Even established industry players and proper tour operators cannot offer a price that low. It doesn’t make sense that individual operators are able to. These are the sort of things that people should take into account before booking a tour,” he said.
Liaw said the issue was ongoing, but had only recently gotten worse when unauthorised parties began advertising in newspapers.
He was especially concerned after a recent group of 60 Malaysians booked an outbound tour to China with an illicit agent, resulting in the group being stranded at the airport.
He said there were four to five such cases identified so far this year, adding that the matter had been brought to the attention of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.