Tourism players laud Pemerkasa assistance
KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism industry players welcomed the assistance allocated under the Strategic Programme to Empower the People and Economy (Pemerkasa) unveiled on Wednesday.
Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang yesterday said the move showed the strong relationship between the government and industry players, which was key to the recovery of the tourism industry.
“Pemerkasa has various stimulus initiatives, particularly the approach to easing travel restrictions.
“We hope these initiatives can help the more than 5,000 travel agents.
“We are also happy that the government has responded to our proposal to have a targeted Movement Control Order (MCO) instead of a nationwide MCO.
“We have been advocating the application of scientific data and an analytical-based approach to manage people’s movement, as
opposed to blanket travel restrictions.
“We see this is a positive step to rejuvenate domestic travel.”
Tan said industry players were looking forward to the reopening of international borders, now that the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme was being carried out.
“We are also grateful for the goodwill gesture of the RM3,000 grant and tax relief for tour packages
offered by licensed travel agents.”
He said Matta would continue to engage with the government regularly to review the initiatives and assist industry players.
However, the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) said the government could do “more” for the tourism sector.
Describing the initiatives as a positive step, MAH president Datuk N. Subramaniam said: “We think the tourism industry is in need of more assistance, especially after the extended interstate travel ban had crippled the industry once again.”
Subramaniam said MAH had hoped for an extension to the wage subsidy programme.
“It is needed to help employers retain their workforce. At the same time, we hope the government will consider higher subsidies for tourism.
“We believe that the Tourism Tax and Sales and Service Tax exemptions, extended for hotels until the end of this year, will boost industry recovery, especially when the interstate travel ban is lifted.”
MAH, Subramaniam said, had submitted proposals to the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry prior to the Pemerkasa announcement.
“We submitted 21 proposals earlier this year, highlighting immediate assistance needed by industry players.
“Among the suggestions were other fee and levy waivers for the players, as well as a 50 per cent discount on electricity for hoteliers. We believe that Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) should offer the discount. TNB announced a net profit of RM3.4 billion last year, while the tourism industry suffered massive losses.”
He said the 10 per cent discount announced and extended until June was inadequate, especially when occupancy rates at hotels were low. “Up to January, hotels recorded more than 20 per cent average occupancy rate, and this number dropped to 18 per cent in February.”
He called on the government to consider allowing targeted interstate travel for selected groups.
“We believe domestic air travel between green zones is possible and is a safer option.
“The government can make it a rule for travellers to present confirmed hotel bookings and flight details when requesting interstate travel approval.
This move, if granted, will not only ensure safe travel, but also help airlines.”