THE Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) will hold an e-travel fair during Ramadan next month to boost domestic tourism, its president Uzaidi Udanis said.

After a battering by the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism players are also changing tack from the usual seasonal promotions, to holding all-year-round offers instead.

Uzaidi said the industry has to try a more flexible approach by offering tours and packages to be used later in the year, so as to adapt to uncertainties like movement restrictions.

“Such fairs are not usually done during Ramadan but we hope people will support it. It has been a tough year and tourism players need to survive.

“People can buy a package, and then travel later. The point is to get them to pre-book the good deals first,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Domestic tourism players have faced a difficult recovery as the reopening of state borders and local tourism was short-lived after the first strict lockdown last year.

Another movement-control order (MCO) was imposed earlier this year and interstate travel remains banned, except with special permission from the police for specific reasons, and for tourism “bubbles” arranged by specific tour agencies and operators.

The packages to be offered will be flexible enough that people can even reschedule their holiday dates should they not be allowed to travel this year, he said.

“Book your preference at a special price first. We will be flexible, but the booking will still be on a first come first serve basis.”

Local tourism players are also starting to focus on niche products as part of their strategy for revival after suffering huge losses due to Covid-19 last year.

These include ecotourism and sustainable travel, as well as reviving interest in historical and heritage sites such as Perak’s Lenggong Valley, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) site.

However, Uzaidi said some industry players were frustrated at the way the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) is being enforced, including the effect the increased fines on breaches have had on customers.

After the second MCO which began in January this year for certain states including Selangor and Kuala Lumpur ended on March 5, it was replaced by the conditional MCO (CMCO).

Online sales for travel immediately picked up as people anticipated travelling, but the spike lasted only a short while, dampened by the government’s move to increase the RM1,000 compound for breaching Covid-19 SOP to RM10,000 effective March 11.

Interstate travel remains banned

Pearl Holiday (M) Travel & Tour Sdn Bhd executive chairman Loo Kok Seong said there were customers who requested refunds due to concerns about getting fined RM10,000.

Loo said the tourism industry has no clarity, as on one hand, they know the government is trying to boost local tourism by allowing tourism bubbles between CMCO states, but on the other hand, the high compound is causing fear among customers.

“Some customers would ask us, ‘If I am fined RM10,000, will the travel agency be responsible?’

“This is a topic the industry is worried about, if the customer will somehow want the travel agency to bear the fine in the end.”

He said with the Muslim fasting month coming soon, he did not expect the government to do much to promote domestic tourism.

“I think the tourism industry’s only hope is after the pandemic is brought under control and the majority of the population is vaccinated.” – March 29, 2021.