Mrs Lina Chiam: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the number of unlicensed tour guides caught during the last five years; (b) what is the most common nationality of unlicensed tour guides caught; (c) whether there has been an increasing influx of unlicensed tour guides to Singapore; and (d) if so, whether the Singapore Tourism Board is stepping up enforcements to curb this influx.

 

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the annual number of unlicensed tour guides detected operating in Singapore for the past ten years; (b) how many of those detected are prosecuted; and (c) what is Singapore Tourism Board's plan and strategy to combat against unlicensed tour guides carrying out guiding in Singapore in whatever form and duration.

 

1. Any person guiding tourists in Singapore for remuneration has to be licensed by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).  Licensing ensures that tourist guides in Singapore are knowledgeable about our heritage, geography and tourism offerings, and have the requisite language proficiency and professional conduct.  As at 31 May 2012, there were 2,312 licensed tourist guides in Singapore.  96% of these guides were Singapore citizens or permanent residents.  This proportion has held steady since 2007.  Many of the non-Singaporean guides are guiding in foreign languages.

 

2. STB takes a serious view of illegal guiding and takes enforcement action against unlicensed activities.  Unlicensed guides who are first-time offenders are issued stern warnings in lieu of prosecution, and encouraged to undergo proper training and licensing.  Travel agents that engage such unlicensed guides will be similarly warned if they are first-time offenders.  In addition, these travel agents will be required to implement measures to ensure full compliance, and will also be subjected to closer scrutiny by STB.

 

3. The incidence of illegal guiding has not been high in the past: there were only 11 suspected cases of unlicensed guiding out of all enforcement checks conducted between 2007 and 2010, with Singaporeans accounting for about half of these cases.  However, such activity has become more apparent in recent years, which may be partly attributable to the rapid growth in visitor arrivals.  For example, feedback to STB on unlicensed guiding doubled between 2010 and 2011.

 

4. In response, STB has more than doubled the frequency of enforcement checks, to 200 spot-checks in 2011.  In addition, STB also mounted large-scale raids at key tourist spots.  Three such operations have been conducted since 2011, yielding a total of 152 suspect cases.  To date, 38 individuals and companies have been issued warning letters and advisories, with locals and foreigners making up about an equal share of these first-time offenders.

 

5. Nevertheless, there are some inherent limitations to STB’s enforcement capabilities today, which we are addressing.  First, the provisions of the Tourist Guides Regulations today are defined quite narrowly, making detection and enforcement challenging.  Second, illegal guiding is neither a seizable nor compoundable offence.  This means offenders cannot be penalised on the spot, and foreign offenders in particular may leave the country before investigations are complete.  Third, the current penalties for illegal guiding were set in 1985 and we need to update them to maintain their deterrent effect.

 

6. To address these limitations, MTI and STB are reviewing the regulatory framework and will progressively introduce changes and enhancements.  In the meantime, STB has committed more resources to increase its enforcement, and will continue to do so.

 

7. STB understands, as does the Ministry, the concerns of the various stakeholders over this matter, and has engaged industry members as well as NTUC’s Tourist Guide Chapter several times.  More can and will be done and I urge the industry and all stakeholders to work closely with STB on this effort.