A holiday needlessly ruined by false expectations

Focus Malaysia

a day ago

A REPORT with the heading 'Travel agency off the hook for not guiding group in Turkiye' merits discussion. What should have been a great holiday to Istanbul, Bursa, Ankara, Cappadocia and Pamukkale was ruined by false expectations from the start.
A total of RM36,618 was paid for nine adults and two children for hotel rooms, full-board meals, transportation and entrance tickets for seven days and six nights stay in Turkiye.
Upon return, the claimant filed for a RM5,000 refund at the Johor Consumer Claims Tribunal, although the travel agency is based at Sungai Petani in Kedah, complaining that 'the respondent did not consult us about engaging a Turkish ground operator to handle our group.'
I am perplexed with the complaint because travel agencies are what they are. As intermediaries, their services are limited to making travel arrangements for customers who prefer to make use of them instead of 'Do it yourself' (DIY), which can be risky to new or unfamiliar destinations.
As such, they do not provide any other service but merely act as agents for suppliers of various services, such as flights, accommodation, meals, transport and shows.
Outbound tour operators that organise group tours for the public to join provide a tour leader as escort throughout.
Upon arrival at various destinations, the tour group is usually joined by a local tour guide onboard the bus, either required by law or the tour leader is unable to provide local information.
For 'free independent traveller' (FIT) which can be an individual, couple, family or small private group, a tour guide is not provided unless specially arranged and paid for. The person assigned to drive the tour vehicle may speak good or broken English.
This reminds me of an incident about 15 years ago when the then Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen was furious upon receiving a complaint directly from foreign VIPs that the guide remained in his vehicle when they were at the National Monument cluelessly walking around.
But he was actually the van driver and not trained to explain the significance of various structures in the area. The fault could either be the officer in the ministry who did not communicate clearly that passengers were VIPs, or the staff in the tour company did not bother to assign a tour guide.
In this recent case, the travel agency had earlier suggested that the claimant engage a Malaysian tour leader to accompany the group in Turkiye at an additional charge, but this was declined by the claimant.
During the hearing, the claimant said she was dissatisfied with the arrangements because the respondent had failed to handle the group from the start to the end of the trip, and had assigned the task to a Turkish ground operator.
It was no surprise that the claim was dismissed with no refund given. But what were the causes of such misunderstandings or disagreements?
Could it be that the travellers are from Johor and choose to deal remotely with a travel agency located in Kedah? Why were the claimants unhappy that the group was handled by a Turkish group operator and expected the travel agency to do so in Turkiye?
Obviously, communication has always been the easiest and also the hardest thing to do. If we think it is common knowledge or common sense by assuming the other party fully understands, then misunderstandings can occur. It will help if it is also written down, including in point form. ‒ Aug 19, 2025
YS Chan is the master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel and Tours Enhancement Course. He is an Asean Tourism Master Trainer and also a tourism and transport business consultant.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
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