Turn vacant condos into tourist accommodation – Satta

KOTA KINABALU: Existing vacant condominiums, especially those located in the central business district (CBD), can be converted into Airbnb accommodations to cope with the tourist arrivals to Sabah, said Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Satta) president Datuk Seri Winston Liaw.

Liaw said the reason being more than 60 per cent of tourist arrivals to the state were Free Independent Travellers (FIT) who bought tickets and accommodation online for their visit to Sabah.

“When the condominium owners register their units with Airbnb, the government will also have extra revenue from the collection of tourism tax.”

He was commenting on Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun’s statement at the State Legislative Assembly sitting on Tuesday that the cancellation of tourist arrivals was not due to tourism tax, but the lack of hotel rooms.

“We realize that developers are bound by the Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) that the condominium units are meant for residential purposes.

“But a great percentage of the buyers, particularly for condominiums in the CBD, are investors while the owners themselves reside in the suburban districts.”

He said to define the high-rise condominiums as residential properties was incorrect in the first place due to the presence of commercial shopping mall in the same building.

Nonetheless, Liaw said the whole building would be a ‘ghost town’ with few residents staying in the condominiums, which further affected the shopping mall.

“If the premises, both the condominium units and shopping mall, are fully utilized, it will be a triple-win situation.

“Developer will also have more confidence in building properties in the future,” he said.