Chinese-speaking guides needed

Chinese-speaking guides needed

SANUR, Bali: Due to a shortage of Chinese-speaking guides, thousands of tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong who flocked to the resort island of Bali during the last two months received no optimal service, a tourist industry official said.

Agung Prana, chairman of the Bali chapter of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agents (Asita) admitted here on Monday that the province is in need of Chinese-speaking guides.

Agung said there were some 600 Chinese-speaking guides in Bali but after the Kuta bombing tragedy in October last year, more than 50 percent of them left the island to their native homes in Java and North Sumatra.

Since the guides were from outside Bali and had little understanding of the local culture and traditions, they were unable to render reasonable service to tourists from Chinese- speaking countries, he said.

To overcome the shortcoming, Agung said, his side in cooperation with the Bali regional tourist service, would in the near future try to train more professional Chinese-speaking guides who understand the ethics, culture and traditions of Bali.

Data from Ngurah Rai Immigration office showed that the number of foreign tourists coming to Bali in July was recorded at 109,928, most of them were from Taiwan. --Antara