2577 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 baidura88@gmail.com, ghapar@usm.my & drbada@gmail.com Hairul Nizam Ismail Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor, MALAYSIA b-hairul@utm.my 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