Another MATTA Travel Fair March 11 – 13 as advertised in the national newspapers. I am told that there will be many goodies in the MATTA Travel Fair. However, there are many Malaysians who will also suffer from the “fly by night” tour agents/operators, who will cease operation few months after they have collected full payment for the tours and flight tickets. The victims of such scams are not protected at all. It would appear that MATTA does not scrutinise the financial standing of all the participants in the travel fair. It seems that MATTA is only interested in collecting exhibiting fees.
Members of the public must be cautious when they purchase tours and flight tickets during such travel fair. Deal with the reputable travel agents only.
The Ministry of Tourism should impose new regulations that MATTA must take out special insurance to compensate victims of such scams otherwise there is no point having such an association like MATTA, which is only interested in organizing travel fairs with no responsibility whatsoever. I have tabled a question on this subject matter in Parliament for debate in March 2011, in HERE. It is hoped that the Ministry will act quickly to protect members of the public from such scams.
