MELAKA – If there is one good thing the pandemic has brought to the historic city of Melaka, tour guide Shaukani Abbas believes it is the “new life” accorded to heritage sites.
“Covid-19 is the enemy, but it has certainly changed how the heritage area looks. The buildings are glowing as if they are smiling, resting after many years of being stressed by traffic congestion, smoke and rubbish.
“Since Melaka was listed in the Unesco World Heritage List in 2008, a slew of tourists have come, encouraging commercialisation and overtourism.
“The tourism drive eventually chased out all the original traders. The older parts of Melaka city are not what they used to be any more,” the co-founder of the Explore Malaysia Virtually website told The Vibes recently.
Describing himself as progressive-minded, Shaukani said heritage buildings are the heart and soul of the old city, with Melaka being the only place in the country with both Dutch and Portuguese architecture on display.
“Though it is not Malaysian, it is part of history, and we cannot delete it from the history books.
“But what has happened is that parts of the buildings, like the Stadthuys, were rented out to souvenir shops selling items not even originally from Melaka.
“Then, there was the issue of cracks in the Stadthuys, and when we complained to the authorities, the matter was pushed from one department to another.”
Shaukani believes it is time to relook how tourism is done in the city, starting with an emphasis on health measures.
“The state government should emphasise health regulations once state or international borders reopen. People need to know that Melaka is safe to visit.
“This is also where tourism players here must work together, not look out only for their own interests to survive.”
He called on the state tourism office to promote Melaka through online education and advertising.
Heritage buildings should be turned into education and experience centres for people to access historical information, instead of places that simply sell ‘I love Melaka’ T-shirts.
“Sadly, we are often told that there is no budget for such initiatives.
“We also cannot really blame them as the officers’ hands are tied due to red tape and policies. There is pressure from the top.”
Having been in the business for 30 years, Shaukani is convinced that there will be a spike in domestic travel after the pandemic, though international tourism may need a longer time to pick up.
He believes that virtual tours to entice domestic and international tourists remain fundamental to the state’s economic revival.
“I am currently doing paid virtual tours in the heritage area. I have my own platform, and I advertise it.
“People from other states and countries buy my packages, and I give live tours on-site and in the heritage area for an hour.
The idea is to promote Melaka during the pandemic so that they come to Melaka afterwards. It is like the appetiser before the main course. We need to remind people of what is in Melaka and make people understand the tourism products.”
Shaukani hopes more tourism players will engage in virtual presentations to market Melaka.
Having started live on-site tours since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in 2020, he was recently invited to be the first Malaysian to promote Melaka on-site tours via a United Kingdom virtual tourism platform. – The Vibes, August 1, 2021
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