Beware online tour packages
Published on: Monday, April 01, 2019
By: Hayati Dzulkifli
KOTA KINABALU: well-known Sabah-based, AirWorld Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd was the only recipient in the Tourism and Travel category in the recent Sabah Top Achievers Award (Sata) 2019, here.
Its Chairman Datuk Seri Winston Liaw received the prestigious award from Deputy Chief Minister cum Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau in the first such Sata event on March 22.
ADVERTISEMENT
Although having received many awards since 1999, he said he is still proud to be selected as the Sata award recipient as it reflects the firm’s credibility in the tourism industry.
“This Sata recognition also reflects our reputation and business performance that we are a reliable tour and travel company.
“It will help to boost the company’s business because nowadays people depend on quality services. Many have been scammed via online tour packages offered by so-called tour and travel agents or companies,” he said in a press conference, Sunday.
As the Sabah Tour and Travel Association (Satta) Chairman, Winston called on public to be wary of existing online scams that offer unreasonable and so-called cheapest tour and travel packages.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said they should be extra careful when dealing with such scammers via online as the latter would attract the attention by offering outrageous package deals.
“Do not go for cheapest and too-good-to-be-true prices of tour packages via online because in the tourism industry, we are making very marginal profit and there’s not much difference with our competitors.
ADVERTISEMENT
“End of last year, there were general cases of people becoming victim to this scam. There was a group of Koreans who were duped of their tour packages to Sabah when they found out there were no hotel bookings made or the tour packages when they reached here.
“The most recent one, was yesterday (Saturday) where 120 people were scammed for a trip to Greece and Turkey.
Some 40 were Sabahans who did not get refund of their deposits,” Winston said while adding that Satta can recommend registered and reliable tour and travel operators who are their members so that they would not be duped by online scammers.
Meanwhile, his eldest son, Jacky Liaw Yee Kang who is the Managing Director of the company told reporters that winning the Sata award is significant and meaningful to them because it is telling the market that the company is stable and do not cheat people in its tour packages.
He said the company is providing packages with prices that are fair in the market with quality services and hospitality.
“We have been running the business in tourism industry since 1996 to promote Sabah as well and to have businesses that come to you.
He said they are honoured because of the strict judging criteria such as business performance like revenue growth, profit market and looking at the company’s work culture.
Jacky, who has been running the business for about 10 years now, said the company is known for doing outbound and inbound tourism packages, and chartered flights for China market especially during Chinese New Year, amog others.
“Our outbound packages cater for tourists from South East Asia and Middle East region and Oceania while our inbound involves tourists from China, Taiwan and domestic tourists from the peninsula.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
