Staggered school holidays mooted

GEORGE TOWN: The suggestion to introduce staggered holiday breaks to avoid overcrowding in tourism hotspots is only for the March, June and September school breaks.
Tourism, Culture and Arts Deputy Minister Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik told reporters that the proposal which was currently pending discussion with the Education Ministry will only apply for the three school holiday terms mentioned above.
"It will address the issue of overcrowding and also help to spur domestic tourism growth in the country," the Balik Pulau MP said after opening the fourth National Archaeology Seminar here today.
The intention to introduce staggered school breaks was mooted by the Tourism Ministry in a bid to distribute domestic tourist load.
"We will discuss further with the Education Ministry as nothing has been finalised yet," said Bakhtiar.
Bakhtiar added that the United States and Australia have adopted similar measures.
"It is something common," he said, adding that it will spread out the crowd in stages.