TOURISM industry players are confident that next year will see the full recovery for an industry badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

With the ease of restrictions and reopening of all sectors and interstate borders, they are certain that tourists will be travelling again. They also hope international borders will be opened soon. 

Malaysian Tourism Council president Uzaidi Udanis told The Malaysian Insight he was grateful for the allocation given by the government under Budget 2022. 

“There are 120 tourism associations under our council and my advice to them is use the aid wisely. 

“Many of the associations are currently facing a shortage of employees, so I would advise them to hire as soon as possible since those who have been laid off are already working in other industries. 

“A lot of research needs to be done before they use the money that is being given,” he said. 

He added that for the tourism industry, any allocation it gets is never enough so they have to make do with what they get. 

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents Malacca chapter chairman Goh Hock Gin said the wage subsidy assistance will be very beneficial. 

“The wage subsidy will be very helpful as many of the travel agencies have been struggling to pay their employees. 

“The tourism industry was the first to be hit when the pandemic started last year and it is the last to recover. Hence we need as much support we can get from the government,” he said. 

Goh said that since the pandemic started, 21 tour and travel operators in Malacca have shut down their businesses for good.

“We used to have 78 members but now we are down to 57 so with this assistance I hope I won’t be seeing many more members shutting down their business,” he said. 

However, he said the sector is slowly regaining what it lost. 

He added that theme parks and other attractions have seen a 60% increase in visitors during weekends and up to 30% hike on weekdays.

Hoping for no delays

Meanwhile, a tour operator in Langkawi who only wants to be known as Saiful said the Budget 2022 aid was timely to help them. 

“With borders opening, we can say that business is slowly picking up.” 

He also hoped the allocation will be given as soon as possible for them to kick-start their business in the new Covid-19-disrupted world. 

The government has allocated RM1.6 billion to revive the tourism industry, one of the worst-hit industries due to Covid-19.

This year’s allocation is an increase from last year’s RM1.2 billion.

During Budget 2022, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz unveiled seven initiatives to help revive the industry.

Among them is the continuation of the wage subsidy programme aimed at tour companies, which have suffered a decline in revenue of at least 30%.

Tengku Zafrul also announced specific financing for the tourism sector of RM600 million under the Penjana tourism financing and the Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd rehabilitation scheme.

Tourism and ancillary industries are estimated to have lost more than RM100 billion in revenue since the start of the pandemic last year. – December 25, 2021.