- Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Transcription

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3rd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC
RESEARCH ( 3rd ICBER 2012 ) PROCEEDING
12 - 13 MARCH 2012. GOLDEN FLOWER HOTEL, BANDUNG, INDONESIA
ISBN: 978-967-5705-05-2. WEBSITE: www.internationalconference.com.my
HERITAGE AWARENESS AMONG TOUR OPERATORS IN HERITAGE SITES: A CASE STUDY
OF RICKSHAW PULLERS IN MELAKA
Nurbaidura Salim, Abdul Ghapar Othman & Badaruddin Mohamed
Sustainable Tourism Research Cluster (STRC) and School of Housing, Building and Planning,
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, MALAYSIA
Tel: 04-653 5435; Fax: 04-653 5845
[email protected], [email protected] & [email protected]
Hairul Nizam Ismail
Faculty of Built Environment,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor, MALAYSIA
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
Appropriate interpretations and quality of tourists’ experience in historical cities are crucial in ensuring revisit by
tourists. This research discovers the ability and readiness of rickshaw pullers as informal tourist interpreters in
helping to enhance the quality of tourists’ experience in the Heritage City of Melaka. This study intends to
identify whether rickshaw pullers have the characteristics of tourist guide with good informal tourist interpreter.
Data collection involved survey among 250 registered rickshaw pullers from four trishaw associations. This study
has indicated the path travelled by the rickshaw pullers around the city. Result of the analysis has produced
several maps such as trishaw trail and food trail suggested by the respondents to the tourists. Based on the
findings, most of the rickshaw pullers suit the characteristic of tourist guides and are ready to become an
informal interpreter. Several suggestions have been made to improve their skills in becoming a good informal
tourist interpreter that include attending self-improvement courses and enhancing their communication skills.
Implication of this study will contribute to the development of tourism industry especially in heritage and food
tourism while improving the quality of travel experiences in the historical cities.
Keywords: tourists’ experience, tourist interpreter, tourist guide, Malacca.
INTRODUCTION
Visiting cultural and historical sites is one of the most popular activities among tourists, nowadays. Heritage has
been deemed as the vital tourism resources that Malaysians, as well as, international tourists frequent historic
attractions when on vacation. As a result, tourism destinations are paying attention to heritage value; one of
the fastest growing niche market segments in tourism industry. National Trust for Historic Preservation defined
heritage tourism as “travelling to experience the places, artifacts and activities that authentically represent the
stories and people of the past and present” (Ham, 1992; Hangrove, 2002). Palmer in Sørensen and Carman
(2009) states that heritage tourism enables people to conceive imagine and authenticates their national
imagination. Visits to heritage places may encourage visitors including locals to take pride in their nation’s
history. Orbasli (2000) quotes that heritage provokes a sense of being part of and belonging to place and
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community in the individuals. As tourists visit heritage sites, they receive more recreational outputs such as
relaxation and stimulation. Furthermore, people who visit heritage places have a greater opportunity in using
heritage as a means of discovering and reflecting what is important to them rather than people who never visits
to ancient monuments are largely motivated by the beliefs that such objects are linked to the remote past.
People who engage in historic and cultural activities tend to spend more, do more and stay longer in the historic
destinations.
Interpretation is a representative of ideas and feelings that help tourists to enrich their understanding,
appreciation of the world and their role within it (Interpretation Australia Association, 1995). Good
interpretation is a powerful communication tool (Hall & MacArthur, 1998) and important to spur repeat
visitation among locals and international tourists. An interpreter or tour guide should at least fluent in more
than one language (Koroglu, 2008) that are well understood by the tourists. Toray in Magablih, Abulhaila and
Saleh (2010) defined translation as a ‘kind of activity which inevitably involves at a least two languages and two
cultural traditions’. It can be said the translator or interpreter transfers the expression, meanings and ideas from
one language into another language and from one culture into another culture. Thus, a tour guide is expected to
be knowledgeable in both source and target cultures to act as an efficient medium to the tourists.
As for Melaka, declaration as World Heritage Site by UNESCO on July 7, 2008 has boomed its tourism industry
and became one of the most attractive destinations in Malaysia. This has triggered the Melaka State
Government to promote and boost its tourism industry throughout the world. The development of Melaka
International Airport in 2009 further attracts more domestic and international tourists. As a result, Melaka was
listed among 45 ‘must-visit’ places in year 2012. The state will also go on an all-out promotion blitz to promote
the new service at the newly developed airport.
There are three significant trails in Melaka namely Dutch Heritage Trail, American Heritage Trail and Melaka
Heritage Trail which was invented by American Express Foundation and Melaka Tourist Information Center.
Instead of self guiding the heritage trail of Melaka, visitors may ride trishaw as a way to visit heritage trails in
Melaka. This will not only promote free carbon tourist movement but will also benefit tourists as some of the
rickshaw pullers have good interpretation skills. Most of the rickshaw pullers are local people who encompass
high local knowledge. They have the capability to interpret heritage stories to the tourists which can enhance
the quality of tourists’ experience. Tourists’ experience in historic cities is important in helping the visitors to
understand the existence of the heritage attractions. Like other types of tourism, the success of heritage
tourism not only relies on the uniqueness of the place, heritage attractions, management and successful tourism
policy but also depends on the perceived impacts and supports from the locals who might be directly or
indirectly involved in the tourism development and activities. Tour operators in heritage destinations involve
various significant stakeholders and local community who indirectly associated to opportunities offered in
tourism. Heritage awareness among them will help to preserve the heritage monuments, enhance the visitors’
experience and nourish appreciation for heritage existence. It is the purpose of this paper to study the heritage
awareness among tour operators; specifically focus on rickshaw pullers as informal interpreter to the tourists.
Their ability and readiness as tourist interpreter may help tourists to enhance the quality of experience while
visiting heritage destinations. This study area focuses on the core zone in Melaka historic city which covers those
three trails mentioned above (Dutch Heritage Trail, American Heritage Trail and Melaka Heritage Trail).
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BACKGROUND OF HERITAGE TRAIL
Heritage trail has become a broadly accepted way in promoting area’s history, cultural and/or natural heritage
and enhancing tourism development. The formation of heritage trail started around 1950s in Boston which is
The Freedom Trail. It was firstly introduced by Bill Schofield, a daily columnist in Old Herald Traveler, to create
identity for the city and reduce tourist difficulty in finding their way. Since then, the trail received 40,000 visitors
annually. Freedom Trail Foundation was later set up in 1964 to help preserving the trail. Nowadays, heritage
trails become popular and common in various historic cities. Many towns in Europe and United States have
formed their own heritage trails (Lai, 2009).
In Malaysia, heritage trails can be traced back to the 1990s. The Kuala Lumpur Heritage Trails are one of the
collaboration between Tourism Malaysia and Heritage of Malaysia Trust. The trails focus on the pre-war
buildings and architectural style. Besides Kuala Lumpur, heritage trails can also be traced in Taiping, Johor Bahru
and also Penang. Penang Heritage Trail was sponsored by American Express Foundation before the declaration
of World Heritage City. In addition, Penang has another heritage trail namely ‘Acheen St. and Armenian St. Penang Historical Melting Pot’ that emphasizes on the street names and its heritage stories. Heritage trail was
designed to preserve history so that it can benefit future generations. Heritage trail is one of the initiatives to
present attractions in a destination in an interesting manner. It also allows tourists to discover and appreciate
other significant aspects of the town and to ensure the attractions in less central location are also visited. Each
of the sights in heritage trails such as museums, arts and craft centers, antique stores and local custom reflect
the cultural history of a place. Omar (2006) portrays heritage trail as a technique to promote attractions in
heritage destinations. He later on adds that heritage trail acts as a medium of transferring knowledge to
individuals as the attractions along the trails provide an opportunity for the visitors to develop useful knowledge
about the place. Thus, heritage trail can be regarded as a form of education to individuals. Al-hagla (2010)
highlights heritage trails as an interaction medium among local people, visitors and heritage sites. It gives
opportunity for the tourists to learn and understand the cultural and custom practiced by the locals. Orbasli in
(Lai, 2009) cited that heritage trail gives opportunity to individuals to explore attractions at less central location
because each attraction or route along the trail has its own stories to be shared with.
CHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMAL TOUR GUIDES
While there are various definitions of tourist guide, Malaysia Tourism Industry Act (1992) defines tourist guide as
a person who renders services to tourists or any other persons by guiding them on tours for remuneration.
Federal of Turkish Tourist Guide Association on the other hand, defines tourist guide as a person who introduced
the country in the best way to locals and foreign tourists, help them during their tour and give them accurate
information about the country (Koroglu, 2008). Tourist guide has been described by several authors as an
informant, pathfinder, source of knowledge, entertainer, mentor and mediator to the tourists (Cohen, 1985; De
Kadt, 1979). However, Magablih, Abulhaila and Saleh (2010) argue that tourist guide is no longer a pathfinder
who reading trail markers but helps tourists to find meaning in what they see. In this study, a rickshaw puller is
considered to have potential of becoming an informal tourist guide. An informal interpreter needs to be
creative in delivering their stories (Alberta Occupational Profile, 2010). The interpretation given should be
logical, narrative and able to encourage tourists to listen to the presented narrative. Informal interpreters
usually act voluntarily and present narrative in historical places such as museums, galleries, monuments and
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heritage sites. However, to become a good interpreter, an individual must attend courses and training programs
namely language and communication skills courses to enhance their confidence levels. In Malaysia, tour guides
must attend certain courses such as Basic Seminar of Tour Guiding, Friendly Malaysia Program, Eco-Host Training
Program, Language and Communication Program and pass the qualification exam before being issued a tour
guide license (Tourism Industry Act, 1992).
Most interpreters have a good understanding of the visitor’s background and their needs. This understanding
helps to generate an opportunity to change the way visitors perceive and behave in their environment.
Holloway, Ryan and Dewar in Magablih, Abulhaila and Saleh (2010) claimed that tour guides’ communication
with tour group may increase both group morale and social interaction. A good tour should be interpretative,
able to present meaningful information and well organized around a central theme with five or fewer ideas
(Ham, 1992). Aside from that, good tours are dynamic as there is always something going on; while the
interpreter is talking, the audiences are actively thinking, searching and discussing something. Tours that cannot
retain audience’s attention are lacking of this dynamic quality. Hall and MacArthur (1998a) state that visitors
tend to lose focus and interest in a tour of more than 20 minutes. This is where tour guide or heritage guide
plays the role of mental capabilities (Hall & MacArthur, 1998a) to ensure the recipient listen to his stories till the
end. The skill of storytelling is essential in shaping or ruining any tour group. For instance, if a tour guide
delivers information in a form of informal storytelling, it may encourage tourists to listen and feel interested to
share the information given. Thus, it can be said that a good tour guide needs to have the skill of dominating his
listener and the ability to control the situation (Hall & MacArthur, 1998b). Khalifah (2007) categorizes the roles
of tourists guide into different categories as shown in Table 1. Success or failure of a tour depends on the tourist
guide who acts as a reference point to the tourists (Khalifah, 2007). In determining the type of narration during
each stop at every historical site, a tourist guide should know how to attract attention from the tour groups by
focusing his interpretation to an object, event or idea. Besides, some tourist guides make humorous jokes to
avoid tourists from feeling bored during their tour. Pop-up questions and involvement of tour group members
in group activities are the best way to get responses from the tourists.
Hall and MacArthur (1998a) claimed that understanding one’s characteristic as an interpreter is essential to
develop an interpretive technique. There are a number of different types of interpreter who consequently
generate different interpretation and different responses from the tourists. Therefore, Ham (1992) categorizes
tourist guides or interpreters into four different groups namely ‘Cop’, ‘Machine’, ‘Know-it-all’ and ‘Host’. In this
study, we will compare the characteristics of rickshaw pullers and categories introduced by Ham (1992) in Figure
1.
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Table 1 Roles of Tourist Guide
Source adapted from Khalifah (2007)
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Figure 1 Type of tourist guide
Source adapted from Ham (1992)
ROLE OF SITE INTERPRETATION IN THE VISITOR’S EXPERIENCE, UNDERSTANDING AND
ENJOYMENT OF HERITAGE
A heritage interpreter is an individual who interacts with participants to provide interest, promote
understanding and encourage a positive experience of a natural, historical or cultural theme (Heritage
Interpreter, 2007). According to Tilden and Craig (2007), interpretation is ‘An educational activity which aims to
reveal meanings and relationships through the use of original objects, by first-hand experience, and by
illustrative media, rather than simply to communicate factual information’. Interpretation is a form of mediation
that conveys ideas and helps individuals to learn about history and their surroundings. ‘Route of the best return’
is the best expression in describing tourists’ satisfaction, expectations and their perceptions while visiting
heritage destination. Visitors should be promised with interesting attractions and good services by the host to
increase tourist arrivals to heritage tourist destinations. They should be facilitated with proper accommodations
and services such as good interpretations and heritage trail to improve the quality of tourists’ experience.
Among different forms of interpretation, tours by heritage guide have the most influence on the visitors’
experience, understanding and enjoyment of heritage. Good interpretation will not only improve tourists’
experience but also encourage repeat visitation by the tourists as it will generate sustainable economy to the
local community.
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Interpretation typically can be divided into verbal and non verbal interpretation, or a combination of both. Kong
(2010) highlights interpretation into factual style and interpretive style. Factual style is just like giving factual
information to recipients without further explanation about the object being discussed. This type of knowledge
transfer tends to be one-way communication and makes the tourists feel bored during the tour. Interpretive
style on the other hand, reveals an interesting form of narration and conveys meaningful message to the
recipients compared to the factual style which simply telling factual information. For instance, rows of
shophouses on Goldsmith Street (Jalan Tukang Emas); well known as ‘Harmony Street’ in Melaka has its own
unique story which symbolizes the harmony of three multiracial ethnics namely Malay, Chinese and Indians who
existed and live together before independence day. Each architectural element on the heritage buildings
reflects the architectural designs of the Dutch, British, Minangkabau, Sumatran and also Chinese. The
architectural design of Kampong Kling Mosque is a cross between Sumatran, Chinese, Hindu and the Melaka
Malay. Meanwhile, the design of Melaka Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is reflecting the architectural style of South
China, with its curve roof ridge, chien nien decoration and gable design. All these buildings have its own
interpretation that makes the tourist tour more meaningful and interesting. Light in (Smith, 2003) states that ‘At
the heart of interpretation is informal education. Interpretation is designed to communicate the significance of
heritage places, in a manner appropriate to visitors engaged in leisure activities during their leisure time’. Each
story or interpretation should weave interesting myths or legends to attract tourists to appreciate history.
MacCannell (1976) describes interpretation as a representation of a living history and a way of telling stories
about people and places (Winkworth & Ltd, 1997). Interpretation may provoke thoughts and ideas, perhaps
even jolt people into a completely new understanding of what they have come to see. For most tourists,
information that they receive during their visit is an opportunity for them to learn about the history or culture of
a place. Some tourists perceive visits to heritage attractions as a means of appreciating universal civilization and
achieving some degree of human unity. Uzzell (1998) portrays that narration cultivates understanding and
beliefs. Through understanding, there is an appreciation and through appreciation, there is protection. This
situation proves that the aspect of heritage protection can be nurtured among tourists through their
understanding of the importance of heritage existence. Cheng (2005) on the other hand believes that the quality
of interpretation from the story teller or so called affect the quality of tourists’ experience. It influences them to
recommend the place through words-of-mouth to friends and relatives (Prayag, 2009) and to revisit the place
again in the near future. Good interpretation starts with good understanding of the site and its heritage value.
Interpretation is about how to communicate, not just to convey information to the tourists. This informal way of
education can be employed to influence tourists’ behavior and to enhance their awareness towards historical
values (Hall & MacArthur, 1998b). In the context of Melaka, a good and clear presentation of heritage history is
essential to the tourists to acquire a better understanding on the existence of historic buildings. This will
encourage tourists to appreciate and support the preservation of the heritage sites.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The Heritage City of Melaka was awarded the status of “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO on the 7th of July, 2008.
The city is divided into three main areas namely Core Zone, Buffer Zone and Heritage Village. However, this
study only focuses on the Core Zone which covers ‘Civic Area’ and ‘Old Quarter Area’. This is because all three
heritage trails are located within this area. These include American Heritage Trail, Dutch Trail and Melaka
Heritage Trail. Heritage trail is designed as one of the best ways to represent the legacy of heritage. Heritage
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trail was created to ease the tourists’ movement so that they have the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful
experiences in every sight of the trail. Trishaw is the most sustainable transportation for this purpose as it does
not require the usage of diesel compared to other public transportations. In the context of this study, rickshaw
pullers are seen as the local people who are capable of interpreting and telling stories to the tourists in every
attraction within the heritage trails.
In this study, sample selection is determined to facilitate researchers while conducting the field study. Data
collection involved 250 registered rickshaw pullers from four trishaw associations namely ‘Persatuan Beca Kota
Melaka’, ‘Persatuan Beca Pelancongan Negeri Melaka’, ‘Persatuan Beca Warisan Melaka’ and ‘Persatuan Beca
Kebajikan Melaka’. Rickshaw pullers from these associations are actively moving surrounding the Heritage City
of Melaka. The purpose of these associations is to encourage the use of trishaw as a mode of transportation for
the tourists to travel along the heritage trails. Each of these associations has their own mission in pursuing the
existence of heritage legacy so that it is not forgotten by the young generations. 250 sets of questionnaires were
distributed among the respondents during the field survey but only 116 sets of questionnaires are returned to
the researcher.
FINDINGS
Number of Rickshaw Pullers Based on Ethnics
Figure 2 Number of rickshaw pullers based on ethnics
Table 2 Type of occupation of rickshaw pullers
Working as
Number of respondents
Total
Full timer rickshaw puller
80
Part timer rickshaw puller
36
116
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Based on the graph shown in Figure 1, Malay people dominates 60% of respondents; the highest respondents to
become as rickshaw pullers compared to the Punjabi who only managed to indicate 3% (3 respondents ) of the
total respondents. Most of the respondents work as a full time rickshaw puller which covers 80 respondents
(69%) while only 36 respondents (31%) work as a part time rickshaw puller. Most of the part time rickshaw
pullers work as mechanics, fisherman and taxi drivers and make this occupation as their part time job. Besides
that, all respondents are registered rickshaw pullers and have their own trishaw inherited by their family
business. According to the respondents, the career as rickshaw puller starts as a hobby during their free time
but it slowly attracts their interest to make this occupation as a full time job.
Age Profile
40
st 35
n
e 30
d
n 25
o
20
sp
er
fo 15
.o 10
N
5
0
38
35
20-30
22
21
31-40
41-50
> 50
Age
Figure 3 Age profile of rickshaw pullers
Graph in Figure 3 indicates that 33% (38 respondents) of the total respondents aged 50 years and above as the
highest respondents to become the rickshaw puller. On the other hand, there are also young respondents aged
around 20-30 years old and 31-40 years old, which indicate 35 respondents (30%) and 22 respondents (19%) of
the total respondents respectively. Although most of the rickshaw pullers are initiated by the elderly, it does not
thwart the youngsters to become the forerunner of this occupation. Career as a rickshaw puller attracts the
youngsters to preserve the existence of trishaw as it is one of the heritage attractions in Melaka. Most of the
respondents describe that trishaw is the heritage attraction that should be well preserved for the future
generations. As for that reason, respondents presume this occupation as their full time job for the last 10 years.
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Number of Rickshaw Pullers by State
Negeri
Sembilan
4%
Johor
3%
Melaka
90%
Sabah
3%
Figure 4 Number of rickshaw pullers by state
As shown in Figure 3, 90% of the respondents (104 respondents) are local people who origins from Melaka.
There are some respondents who are outsiders from Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Sabah. From the total
respondents, there are only 5 respondents (4%) from Negeri Sembilan while both Sabah and Johor only recorded
3 respondents (3%) respectively. Based on the field survey, respondents from Melaka tend to have more local
knowledge about Melaka compared to the outsiders. Their ability to interpret and convey information is better
than the outsiders since each interpretation given is based on their own experience as the local citizen.
Therefore, it can be said that the locals have more local knowledge compared to the outsiders. Sometimes, the
story that is delivered in heritage attractions such as Porta de Santiago can be associated with his life
experience. Most interestingly, if the rickshaw pullers had family members who lived during the Melaka
colonial, this narration can be inserted while delivering the stories to the tourists. Besides, rickshaw pullers who
hail from Melaka could provide appropriate tips for travelers during their trip to the heritage city of Melaka since
they know all ins and outs of the streets within the city.
In contrast to the respondents from other states, most of them have good local knowledge. However, their
techniques of interpretation and content of the narration is slightly different as the life experienced by them
differs from that experienced by the respondents who hail from Melaka. Good interpretation of an object lies
on the good interpreter; how he or she conveys good and useful information to the tourists. Enjoyable trip
relies on the good narrator or tour guide. Cultural background of the tourist guide shapes the style and content
of the interpretation of the trip. A comparison of knowledge between two respondents from different states is
shown as in Table 2.
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Table 3 Interpretations delivered by rickshaw pullers by two different origins
Interpretation
delivered by
respondents from:
Melaka
Kota Street
Merdeka Street
Jonker Street
 A uniquely replica of  During weekdays, there are
some antique shops that
Portuguese Flor De La Mar
sell reasonable and cheaper
that houses the Maritime
goods such as Jonker
Museum of Melaka.
Gallery and Wah Aik Shoe
Maker.
 Meanwhile,
on
the
weekends, the tourists can
enjoy the longest night
market along Jonker Street
 A place for tourists to go  A place for tourist to go
shopping
shopping and enjoy trishaw
ride
 There are many museums
to look back at the
beginning of the history of
Portuguese colonialism and
Melaka Sultanate
 There is milestone served
as mark the first landing of
Portuguese to Melaka.
 Porta de Santiago
Negeri Sembilan
Based on the Table 2, it can be shown that interpretation by respondents who hail from Melaka is more clearly,
easily understood and appears to be more interesting compared to the interpretation given by respondents who
are not from Melaka.
Level of Confidence
There are several characteristics that should be presented by rickshaw pullers to becoming a good informal
interpreter to the tourists. This finding is important to discern the confidence level of the respondents while
interpreting stories to the tourists. These attributes indirectly will influence their interpretation or storytelling
and the quality of tourists’ experience while visiting the heritage city of Melaka. There are six characteristics
identified by the researcher:



Two-way communications
Speak more than two languages
Good listener



Respond to audience need
Friendly
Happy to take questions
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These attributes were tested during the field survey and result is as in Figure 5.
Happy to take questions
101
Friendly
100
Respond to audience needs
85
Good listener
106
Speak more than two languages
103
112
Two ways communications
0
20
40
60
80 100 120
Total of respondents
Figure 5 Characteristics of rickshaw pullers
Note: Respondents may answer more than one answer
The findings show that nearly 112 respondents or 97% communicate directly with the tourists while 103
respondents (89%) able to speak more than two languages. The skill of two-way communication is essential to
attract the tourists to actively involve in the discussion. Most of the respondents are able to speak in English,
Japanese and Chinese. Their ability to tackle more than two languages ensures them to give a better
understanding to the tourists when interpreting their stories. Besides that, the rickshaw pullers are also friendly
to the tourists. The respondents truly believe that their friendliness and personality indirectly represent the
image of Melaka to the tourists. Out of the total respondents, 101 respondents (87%) happily take questions
whenever they were asked questions by the tourists while 85 respondents (73%) respond to the audience needs
and acknowledge all points of views from the tourists. Their openness in answering questions by the tourists
obviously shows their level of local knowledge about the study area. According to the respondents, telling
stories and history about Melaka to the tourists give them a sense of proud and provide them an opportunity to
promote the good image of Melaka to the tourists. Based on the observation during the field survey, it appears
that the respondents know how to entertain the tourists to enliven the heritage tour and at the same time, they
know when to stop or call for a break during the heritage trip. Even though most of the respondents have the
characteristics as mentioned, only 75 respondents (65%) mark all these characteristics in the distributed
questionnaires.
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Courses Attended By Rickshaw Pullers
There are some of the respondents attended several courses or seminars before they become a rickshaw puller.
According to the respondents, in order to become a registered rickshaw puller, they need attend courses or
seminars organized by Melaka Municipal Council such as Communication Skills Seminar, English Course, Tour
Guide Training Program, ‘Melaka Welcomes the World’ Seminar and Self Appearance Seminar. All these courses
are one of the Council’s initiatives to boost up Melaka tourism industry especially surrounding the core zone.
Plus, these courses help them to build the confidence level while communicate with both international and local
tourists. Instead of attending free courses by the Council, there are some of the respondents who are willing to
spend their own pocket money to attend some other relevant courses. All the attended courses are their own
initiative to improve themselves as they need to encompass various skills to become a good informal tourist
interpreter.
Readiness to Become Informal Tourist Interpreter
78%
Ready
22%
Not yet ready
Figure 6 Readiness of rickshaw pullers as informal interpreter
Based on the findings in Figure 6, only 90 respondents (78%) are ready to become an informal tourist interpreter
while the other 26 respondents (22%) are not ready enough to become an informal tourist interpreter.
According to the respondents who are ready to become an informal interpreter, they believe that their role as
informal interpreter is important to the tourists so that they truly understand the meaning of heritage values in
heritage sites. At the same time, their role as informal interpreter represents their image as rickshaw pullers. On
the other hand, those who are not ready to become informal tourist interpreter claim that they are lacked of
confidence while communicating with tourists especially with foreign tourists.
Trishaw Trail and Food Trail in the Study Area
This study finds that all registered rickshaw pullers follow the paths in the existing heritage trail in the study
area. According to the respondents, each of the paths in heritage trails has their own uniqueness and
interesting stories behind it. Map 1 shows the routes travelled by the respondents and rank given by them while
bringing the visitors strolling around the city. They gave the ranking 2 and 3 to all tourist attractions in Melaka
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Heritage Trail. Respondents are also able to suggest famous local cuisine in the study area to the tourists. This
finding contributes to the food trail within the study area since all the food places recommended by the
respondents are within 500m walking distance. Most of the food places in the study area are within 5 minutes to
20 minutes walking distance. The distance among these food places also promotes low carbon tourist movement
in the study area. Comparison between time taken by the respondents and pedestrians to reach at suggested
local food places is shown in Map 2.
Map 1 Paths used by rickshaw pullers
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Map 2 Famous local food places in study area
Flexibility in Trail Selection
Table 4 interpretations delivered by rickshaw pullers by two different origins
Fee charged on the tourists(RM) :
(Fee for single trishaw ride only)
30 minutes
1 hour
RM20
RM40
Respondents are flexible to any trail chosen by the tourists. The tourists are free to choose the places they wish
to visit. Packages offered to the tourists are 30 minutes (RM20) and one hour (RM40) for a trishaw ride around
the study area. However, they may request the rickshaw pullers to bring them around the heritage trails for
more than one hour. Respondents will provide a pictorial map to the tourists which cover all tourist attractions
in the study area. The interpretation given is different according to the type of trail requested by the tourists.
Interpretation given for 30 minutes ride is different with the interpretation for one hour trishaw ride.
Interpretation for one hour trishaw ride is more detail and clearly compared to the other one. According to the
respondents, tourists who appreciate heritage value tend to choose the one hour trishaw ride because they are
interested to know more about historical stories of the site. Interesting tourist attractions experienced by the
respondents are shown in Table 7 (Appendix).
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Characteristics of Informal Tourist Interpreter Based on Ham (1992)
Table 6 shows the findings of rickshaw pullers characteristics divided into four categories. About 90 respondents
(78%) are classified in Category A. Based on Ham theory (refer to Figure 1), most of the respondents are ‘Host’
who are capable to interact with the tourists. This study proves that most of the respondents are able to
increase the quality of tourists’ experience through their good interpretations. They have the characteristic of
tour guides with high local knowledge as added value. As discussed in the previous findings, majority of the
respondents are from Melaka who knows all the ins and outs of roads within the study areas. Besides describing
the history of the study area, they are also able to interpret architectural, cultural and physical features within
the study area. They are able to enlighten tourists about architectural differences of Baba and Nyonya, Dutch
and British buildings. Rickshaw pullers are also capable identifying historical facts such as important dates
clearly. Therefore, it can be said that rickshaw pullers are ‘living museum’ to the tourists.
Category A
Local expert
(local people of Malacca)
Table 5 Criteria of informal tourist interpreter
Category B
Category C
Local expert
Local expert
(local people outside Malacca)
(local people of Malacca)
Active biker
(always tell stories to
visitors)
Active biker
(always tell stories to visitors)
Semi active biker
(only tell stories by request
from visitors)
Master more than two
languages
(English, Tamil, Chinese,
Japanese)
languages
Japanese)
languages
Japanese)
Ready as informal tourist
interpreter
Ready as informal tourist
interpreter
Category D
Not local expert
Passive biker
(do not tell stories to the
tourists)
Do not master more than
two languages
Not ready as informal tourist
interpreter
Not ready as informal
tourist interpreter
DISCUSSION
Based on the analysis performed, rickshaw pullers have the potential and are ready to become informal tourist
interpreters. Although, some of them did not attend any specific programs or formal training as tourist guide, it
does not mean that they are not qualified to become a good interpreter to the tourists. Rickshaw pullers are also
capable of interpreting stories in their own style and some of them are even more talented than licensed tour
guides. The capability to deliver a good quality of interpretation can be improved as suggested by (Hall &
MacArthur, 1998a) who provide a list of practical suggestion of improving the day-to-day quality of
interpretation (refer to Table 2).
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Table 6 Hints for interpretation
Hint (please indicate page)
Expect to increase time proportionally to
group size
Set up theme and concept early in the
experience
Carry communication helpers
Involve the client
Ensure sentences are short, positive and
creative
Avoid jargon and technical terms
Be relevant to the heritage being interpreted
Read the group’s body language and respond
accordingly
Give equal attention to clients
Continually seek feedback
Attempt to be accurate and fair to your
knowledge and understanding
Ensure neutrality and cover a range of views
Continually involve clients
Explanation
The larger the group, the more difficult their movement
Interpretation and clients need warming up; an introduction using
maps, figures and artifacts helps to establish realistic expectation
Visual aids and objects help by providing additional material to explain
complex ideas; they can also help to run interpretation in a vehicle or
building when the weather is poor
Getting clients to do something makes them feel more involved and
thus more useful and interested
Satisfaction can easily diminish if the clients feel they are being lectured
to or hearing something that has been repeated
Most interpretive language should be able to be delivered to a reading
age of eleven or twelve years
Keep as much of the on-site interpretation focused on a real object that
clients can focus on and, ideally interact with
Signs of disinterest during interpretation include straying from the main
group, individual conversations and playing with the objects
Involve all clients at some stage. If something Is raised in a small group
discussion that could be useful for all, reintroduced it later on
Ask people what they thought of the interpretation and the experience
and keep probing until something concrete is gained which can be used
to tailor the service further
Some clients will ask questions that require more thorough
understanding. Acknowledge your limits and buy some to utilize some
additional resources then come back to your clients
Expose audiences to management issues but avoid pushing individual
value judgments. If clients request an opinion, make sure you
acknowledge it as such
Interpretation needs mental and ideally physical involvement of the
audience. Ask for contributions via clients recollections, the holding of
an artifact of the co-running of an activity
Source adapted from (Hall & MacArthur, 1998a), pg 188.
All respondents used the existing roads and paths in the study area because they believe all paths in the study
areas hold their own unique stories that would be interesting to share with the visitors. This research shows that
trishaw acts as a sustainable mode of transportation and the free carbon movement also makes it more
environment-friendly. Also, rickshaw pullers are flexible to every trail chosen by the tourists depending on the
offered packages. There are some limitations while conducting this study as majority of the respondents are
Malays. Relatively, few number of rickshaw pullers are Chinese, Indians and Portugese. Therefore, relatively
most of the questionnaire survey was answered by the Malays. Out of the total respondents, only 26
respondents (22%) are not yet ready to become informal tourist interpreters but this number can be reduced if
they are exposed to various skills courses and seminars that might help enhance their confidence levels while
communicating with visitors. Findings of the analysis reveal that the rickshaw pullers only attend the free
courses and programs organized by Melaka Historic City Council. However, these courses are limited and rarely
organized by the local authority. Therefore, there are some suggestions to improve their confidence level to a
2594
better communication with both international and local tourists by attending courses like self motivation
seminar, seminar on heritage interpretation and communication skills on other languages (i.e. Japanese,
Mandarin, Korean, etc). At the same time, self improvement course is highly encouraged to be organized so that
the rickshaw pullers are more exposed with the current issues. Besides that, there are some of the rickshaw
pullers who take their own initiative to spend by attending these courses. They realize that they need to improve
themselves to meet the tourist’s demand. Their role as tourist interpreters is seen as one of the key elements in
enhancing the quality of tourists’ experience in historic destinations. As tourists obtain valuable experience
during their trip to historical sites, this will create a sense of appreciation and responsibility to protect its
valuable heritage.
In conclusion, it is hoped that this study will assist relevant parties to enhance heritage tourism in Heritage City
of Melaka and recognize the role of rickshaw pullers as informal tourist interpreter in enhancing the quality of
tourists’ experience. More various skills courses and seminars should be held by the concerned parties so that
the interpretation delivered will be more understood and valued by the tourists.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to extend my appreciation to Universiti Sains Malaysia for the Research University Grant entitled
'Tourism Capacity and Impact Studies’ [Grant No. 1001/PTS/8660011] that makes this study and paper possible.
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Table 7 Delivered Interpretation Based On The Packages Offered (Appendix)

- Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Transcription

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