TOURISM must be allowed to resume by September if the sector is to stay afloat, said people in the business.

They said the sector should be allowed to open following mass vaccinations.

They told The Malaysian Insight the worsening pandemic has crippled the industry with a recent poll showing 70% of tour agencies had grown dormant resulting in the loss of of many jobs.

They also want the government to help them through this difficult period with prompt payment of salary subsidies.

Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) president Albert Tan said he expects business to be bad in the next four months as the pandemic rages.

“It will be impossible to get any business in June to September. I hope the government will extend the salary subsidy to cover this period,” he said.

Tan said the industry had expected the pandemic to be brought under control by the end of the year as more people were vaccinated.

MCTA has thus planned a travel exhibition in the first week of November.

“The travel fair is targeted at people who wish to go on a year-end holiday and those who plan to travel abroad in the first half of 2022.

“We put our hopes into business improving in the first half of 2022 as it is only May now, and there is more than half a year to go for the pandemic to improve.

“With the vaccination programme, we hope the situation will be safe for travel by October this year,” he said.

However, if the situation does not improve and the current standard operating procedures (SOPs) are tightened further, the tourism exhibition will have to be postponed.

Due to the pandemic, many tour agencies are dormant as travel in and out of the country is still prohibited.

Tan said tour agencies which did domestic travel had initially depended on that to bring in business but the ban on inter-state and inter- district travel put a hamper on their plans.

“The travel agency has no business at all. Even if their offices are open, there are no customer enquiries whatsoever.

A poll by the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) found that 70% of its member companies are dormant while others are operating side businesses to maintain the company’s income.

Tan hoped the national vaccination programme will be completed soon so that domestic tourism and tourism bubbled with neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Thailand can be formed to allow people to travel abroad.

He said when the government allowed domestic tourism to operate in March, there was still hope for hotels, restaurants and casinos, but all that changed in April when the number of cases went up.

In March, Putrajaya allowed interstate travel for tourism between states placed under the recovery movement control order (RMCO) if it was done via tourism agencies and tour vehicles registered with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac).

On May 4, the bubble was suspended in view of rising Covid-19 cases.

“The number of Covid-19 cases in April suddenly skyrocketed. There was panic when that happened and all tour activities stopped as people were afraid to even go out for a walk.

“It affected the mood of our customers. Young or old, they didn’t want to go out or travel as they were worried about the safety of their families,” Tan said.

He said MCTA had already planned for the second half of 2021 before the pandemic worsened. Now, he hoped people will self isolate and that the government will speed up the vaccination drive to bring the pandemic under control.

Survival mode

Mita chairman Uzaidi Udanis said during the travel bubble in March, the association was able to sell out travel packages in three days.

At the time he had partnered with e-commerce platforms to sell the packages and he had intended to do the same in June.

With the current situation, however, Uzaidi said the plans had to be postponed as it was difficult to sell tour packages when the number of Covid-19 cases were at an all time high.

“It depends on the pandemic data. If the number goes down, people will be more confident. If the government enforces tougher actions and makes everyone self-isolate, we hope people will abide by it.”

Uzaidi said industry players had hoped that the government would implement targeted lockdowns in order to bring down the number of cases and for businesses to resume.

“The government has decided at this point to put a stop to all travel activities so we will comply. Our members are no longer active and are not able to sell or promote travel packages at the moment. All they can do is reduce manpower and stay dormant,” he said.

In addition to being dormant, Uzaidi said tourism players are in survival mode. They are all trying to come up with the best solution that will allow them to maintain an income.

Some have put their contacts to good use and partnered with locals in Kedah and Sabah to branch out to other businesses. This he said also helps locals make a living.

Mita has also cooperated with the University Malaya cultural institute to promote traditional Malaysian dance to China as a future tourism product.

“We have negotiated with our Chinese counterpart and they are very excited. They want to learn Malaysian traditions, culture and food.”

This year, Uzaidi said, is the year of the durian. The industry has been actively promoting Musang King to China.

Online shopping

Apple Travel, a domestic travel agency, has turned to online shopping by selling its customers mid to high end products from overseas so that its customers can experience being abroad without actually needing to travel.

Apple Vacation West Division senior sales and marketing manager YJ Chong said initially the company had plans to develop domestic tour packages but all that changed after travel was suspended after the Sabah state elections and with the implementation of MCO 2.0 in January this year.

When it launched the sales of its products during Chinese New Year, Chong said the reception was better than expected. He chalked it up to the company’s 25-year-old reputation and loyal customers.

The company has shifted its focus to food items. Since Chinese New Year, it has started selling Japanese fruits and snacks such as honeydew, Kyoto grapes and peaches which have become hot commodities among its customers.

“From March to April when stores were allowed to open, business was slow but it picked up during Mother’s Day and when MCO 3.0 was announced.”

The company had also leveraged on its director Lee Ee Hoe’s good relationship with Singaporean columnist, food critic, and occasional television Chua Lam who is based in Hong Kong to be an agent for its products.

“With our partnership, we are now an exclusive agent for Chua’s line of cooking sauce in Singapore and Malaysia. Prior to this, the sauce was only available in China.”

Their online business known as Apple Marketo, operates online and on Facebook and sells mid to high end products. Chong said he is grateful to the company’s customers for trusting them to provide high quality products.

To strengthen Apple Travel’s connection with its customers, the company has turned to sending its own employees to deliver goods in person.

“In the Klang Valley, all products are delivered by Apple employees, including fruits, A5 wagyu, king crab, oysters, scallops, etc.

“By delivering in person, we remind our customers not to forget us when they plan on travelling in the future.”

Chong said that the government has delayed the payment of salary subsidies and some businesses have only received their April subsidies though it is already the end of May.

“I hope the government will not delay too long in this regard, because the industry really needs financial assistance to assist in daily expenses and the living expenses of employees.”

The Prime Minister’s Office last week announced tighter health measures curbing economic and social activities. – May 27, 2021.