THE conditional movement-control order (CMCO) in the Klang Valley has hurt domestic tourism throughout the country but Sabah in particular, where the movement restrictions are also in place, said the state chapter of the Malaysian Tourism Industry Association.

Matta Sabah chapter office manager Kennedy Fung told The Malaysian Insight that the movement restrictions as well as the exponential growth in the number of Covid-19 cases have led to postponements and cancellations.

Some holiday plans in September and October have been postponed to November and December, but whether these materialise still depend on how the pandemic unfolds in the state, said Fung.

Worse, many travellers are now requesting full refunds, affecting the cash flow of tourism operators.

“Travel agencies have been using deposits to maintain operating expenses and to make accommodation bookings.

“I hope tourists can be considerate by choosing to postpone the travel plans, rather than to cancel and request refunds,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“Sabah enjoyed full bookings in August and for the Merdeka holiday. The industry here was preparing for recovery and some players even hired new employees and were busy designing new itineraries.

“Hotels and guest houses were ready to welcome tourists. At the time, tourism here had been restored to about 20% or 30%.

“There were also expectations of an influx of tourists for the year-end school holidays,” Fung said.

The CMCO is in force in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya from October 14 to 27, but National Security Council spokesman Ismail Sabri Yaakob and director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said more stringent measures and their economic impact are being assessed, prompting concerns of an extended or stricter lockdown.

Malaysia now has more than 22,000 Covid-19 cases, with more than 10,000 of these reported since the beginning of October, compared with the first seven months of the pandemic and accompanying movement restrictions.

Sabah is bearing the brunt of infections, accounting for nearly one third of all cases and deaths so far.

Besides Sabah and the Klang Valley, the CMCO is also in place in Labuan.

Overall, it has disrupted “cuti-cuti Malaysia” plans for many Klang Valley residents after months of the earlier lockdown to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.

Matta secretary-general Nigel Wong said travel and tour operators were initially relieved when domestic tourism resumed under the recovery MCO implemented in June.

However, with the latest CMCO, there is a 50% drop in the number of tourists to local islands, nature parks and in food and eating tours, he said.

“People get nervous when the rules say that you can’t travel interstate or inter-district.”

Wong agrees with Fung that travel operators are again in financial difficulties following demands for full refunds by tourists.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) president Uzaidi Udanis said the usual hot spots such as Penang, Malacca and Port Dickson are expected to be quiet this weekend.

Currently, there are almost zero bookings in these tourist traps.

“After foreign tourists, Klang Valley visitors are the largest market. With the CMCO in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, these places are deserted,” Uzaidi said.

Islands and beaches on the east coast of the peninsula were also favoured by local tourists during the RMCO, but the monsoon season there has also reduced the number of visitors.

“There are two months left in 2020, so the tourism industry is not expecting to recover by year-end.

“Instead, we are putting our hopes on the coming Chinese New Year, provided the situation improves,” Uzaidi said.

He added that some tourism operators have experimented with creating different travel experiences to retain customers.

One method is using visual tours, whereby a guide takes the viewer on a tour and provides explanations.

“We recently launched 20 scenic spots and more than 150 travel products with different experiences where tour guides explain the attractions,” he said, adding that these online packages start at RM30 and are well received. – October 23, 2020.