Airlines, tourism call for support to help restore air connectivity
Sectors are hopeful for industry specific measures under Budget 2022 to help pull them out of the doldrums from the Covid-19 pandemic.
For starters, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) hopes the upcoming Budget 2022 will include incentives and relief support to help restore air connectivity that has been affected by the pandemic.
The airport operator said the support would also enable continuous growth in the cargo and logistics sector to fulfil the National Transport Policy 20192030 that aims to make Malaysia the preferred logistics gateway to Asia.
“With the support, passenger airlines can restart their operations once international border restrictions are lifted while existing or new freighter airlines can aim for longrange connectivity for cargo movement,” the company told Bernama.
It said incentives on landing fee and flight frequency would further encourage more freighter airlines to utilise Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as their ‘hub and spoke’ network and at the same time attract more passenger narrow-body aircraft to operate via KLIA to accommodate the growth of ecommerce shipments within the Southeast Asia market.
“These government efforts will help prevent cargo leakages to competitor airports such as Singapore (Changi Airport) and Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport) by increasing volume throughput via KLIA,” it said.
MAHB said it has been gearing up for recovery amidst the gradual air travel resumption both domestically and globally and hoping that the government would further support and strengthen efforts to boost its position as a top global airport operator when the aviation industry picks up again.
Shot in the arm for tourism operators
Malaysia’s tourism industry overall has lost more than RM135 billion in 2020, and for 2021, The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture expects the loss to be more than RM165 billion.
To combat this, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) hopes that the budget will be “generous” towards the tourism industry with specific and targeted assistance especially for the tour operators and travel agencies who have been a main contributor and catalyst to the development of the tourism industry.
“Rehabilitating tourism businesses involve providing soft loans for the companies to rebuilt an infrastructure that have collapsed, staff retention, retraining and providing support to meet consumers expectations and its competiveness as a preferred destination in this region”,” commented MATTA President, Datuk Tan Kok Liang.
“Due the pandemic, current tourism strategies will be local before global. As such Budget 2022 should focus on providing travel stimulus packages and tax incentives for personal and corporate travel “. Given the limitations of domestic tourism, the government must fast-track framework and travel solutions to expedite opening the border for international tourists”.
“After waiting for 20 months while seeing other countries successfully containing Covid -19 and reviving their tourism industry, Malaysian tourism players are eager to get started and look forward to smart public-private partnership initiatives”
Matta had submitted to the Ministry of Finance our proposals and wish list for the National Budget 2022 to urgently help a critically injured economic sector and the stakeholders involved in it.
Matta had urged the Ministry of Finance to set up a ‘Tourism Recovery & Growth Fund’ to provide financial support to all stakeholders and private sector companies in the tourism industry to restart, revive, sustain and grow their respective sectors now and into the future.
It also called on the government to revive the ‘Domestic Travel Stimulus Programme’ for the consumers to buy subsidised domestic holidays from licensed travel agencies and tour operators.
The programme is expected to start with at least RM500 million in its fund to help revive, restimulate, and revitalise domestic travel and holiday-making by consumers at a subsidised price and also providing business back to the travel agencies/tour operators.
Industry changes necessary for survival
OYO Malaysia and Singapore vice president and head Tan Ming Luk highlighted the heightened need for structural and physical changes to tourist destinations to address health requirements and visitor expectations.
“Implementation of standardised labelling under the Ministry of Health to certify safety and hygiene measures can allay anxiety among travellers, avoiding confusion and improving trust and confidence.
“These new labels can indicate hand sanitiser and handwashing facilities, physical distancing protocols and frequent cleaning procedures, as well as automated and contactless transactions, among others. Proof of vaccination also helps.
“In OYO’s markets worldwide, we have seen travel bookings rapidly rise once at least 40 per cent of the population have received their first vaccine dose. Recent OYO data show that properties with fully vaccinated personnel record a 220 per cent increase in occupancy and a 180 per cent increase in RevPar compared to properties that are not.
“Today’s crisis is also an opportunity to rethink tourism for the future. Policies put in place today should consider longer term implications, such as staying ahead of the digital curve, supporting the low carbon transition, and promoting structural transformation for a more sustainable and resilient tourism economy.
“The strategies laid out in the 12th Malaysia Plan to revitalise the tourism industry are a good start. Restoring tourist confidence, providing better quality products and services, enhancing the sustainability of tourism products, strengthening brand positioning and promotion, instituting governance reforms and intensifying domestic tourism will all help.”
Along the same vein, Airbnb head of public policy for Southeast Asia, Mich Goh, proposed for the government to recognise and enable the potential of the sharing economy in the hospitality sector.
“Airbnb calls on the Government to approve the regulatory framework proposed by the Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC). Approving and enforcing a clear, coherent and consistent short term rental accomodation, STRA framework will ensure that the STRA sector can play a role in driving tourism growth and dollars as the country begins to reopen to international travel.
Airbnb also called on the government to adopt an inclusive approach in the formulation and implementation of economic recovery strategies.
“It is important that STRA Hosts and platforms are included in discussions on tourism reopening, as the country reopens its state borders and gradually resumes overseas travel. This will enable all enterprises, including smaller tourism players, to participate in and drive the acceleration of Malaysia’s post-pandemic recovery. For example, in addition to hotels and homestays, STRA must also be permitted to host guests who have completed their vaccinations.”
To ensure that all tourism accommodation players can benefit from government incentives, Airbnb called for several key incentives - currently dedicated only to traditional players in the tourism sector - to be extended to STRA hosts, both individuals and SMEs.