BUSINESS has not picked up for hoteliers during the recent school holiday as parents, fearing the Omicron wave have refrained from travelling, industry experts said.

They are now pinning their hopes on the vaccinated travel lane between Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as the reopening of borders on April 1.

Malaysia Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA) chairman Lim Mee Lee said during the recent three-week school holiday, hotels in Penang did not see any improvements.

Occupancy rate was a mere 30% to 40%.

“The school holiday did not improve the occupancy rate of hotels in Penang,” Lim told The Malaysian Insight.

“The epidemic was quite severe and many students caught the virus. This meant parents were not in the mood to take their children on holiday.”

Malaysia Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA) chairman Lim Mee Lee said during the recent three-week school holiday, hotels in Penang did not see any improvements.

Occupancy rate was a mere 30% to 40%.

“The school holiday did not improve the occupancy rate of hotels in Penang,” Lim told The Malaysian Insight.

“The epidemic was quite severe and many students caught the virus. This meant parents were not in the mood to take their children on holiday.”

He said most domestic tourists typically spend the weekends in the island, booking a stay on Friday and leaving on Sunday.

With the borders reopening on April 1, Lim hoped that the government will clarify the standard operating procedure (SOP).

If Malaysia requires those who travel daily between Malaysia and neighbouring countries to undergo a PCR-test every single time, this may drive tourists away, he said.

“If visitors from neighbouring countries need to undergo PCR test when they enter Malaysia, what happens when they leave in the evening?” Lim asked, adding that they are awaiting instructions from the Health Ministry. 

With the VTL and international tourists arriving soon, Lim expects it to revitalise the island.

Eighty percent of Penang’s tourism relies on foreigners while 20% is domestic tourism.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Malaysia will be transitioning to the endemic phase on April 1, which will see the borders reopening for the first time in two years.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said fully vaccinated international travellers would not need to quarantine upon arrival.

Those under the age of 17 would not need to undergo quarantine regardless of their vaccination status but would be required to perform an RTK test within 24 hours of entering the country.

For periodic travellers who use the land borders, Khairy said the SOP would be announced soon.

Johor relies on Singaporean tourists

Malaysian Association of Hotel’s (MAH) Johor chapter chairman Ivan Teo said businesses in the state need Singaporeans to return.

“Locals rarely travel to Johor Bahru and hotels here are dependent on Singaporean tourists,” he said.

During the school holidays and the Johor polls, hotel occupancy did not go up as many opted for Airbnb, he said.

“Airbnb has a big impact on the hotel industry, especially in Johor Bahru where many apartments are rented out using the service. We feel helpless.”

MyBHA Johor chairman, Jarod Chia said that in March, occupancy rates in Johor increased by 10%.

The school holiday did not boost the industry as parents were afraid that their children would get infected, Chia said.

“Unless vaccination for children becomes compulsory, parents will be cautious about taking their children out during school holidays. This will not help the hotel and tourism industry.

“During the first and second week of the school holiday, there were no crowds in tourist attractions in Johor and Malacca, they were deserted,” he said.

Chia believes the Omicron variants which drove cases up during the Chinese New Year celebrations caused many to cancel their holiday plans.

“Some hotels will receive cancellations and we understand this as the number of infections are increasing daily.”

Malaysia recorded 22,341 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, said the Health Ministry.

Cases have been trending in the five digits for weeks due to Omicron.

To date, 1.23 million (34.9%) children aged 5 to 11 have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids).

Meanwhile 2.84 million (91.4%) adolescents aged 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated and 2.94 million (94.6%) have received at least one dose of the vaccine. – March 21, 2022.