LABOUR shortage is still a cause for concern as tourists begin trickling back to Malaysia, said tourism industry players.

And while the Ringgit’s depreciation and opening of borders have helped make it cheaper to visit Malaysia, tourism operators said the labour shortage is worrying.

“There are around 35 people in any given tourist group. In June, there were 60 groups of tourists, more than 2,000 tourists, all of them from Vietnam,” said Malaysia Inbound Chinese Association (MICA) deputy president Dr Cindy Seow.

She said that many of them were company trips, some for team building, while others were employee reward schemes with the remainder for conferences.

And while the groups from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia prefer Malaysia due to its good Covid-19 prevention measures, Seow said the labour shortage in hotels has upset their rhythm.

“Tour operators must arrange their itineraries in accordance with hotel check-in times. These groups usually check in the tourists before proceeding to sightseeing activities.

“But due to the labour shortage at hotels, the tours are delayed as they cannot check in promptly at 2pm. Due to the lack of manpower, these groups have to wait till 4pm and sometimes 6pm before they are checked in,” said Seow.

She said this was the same at restaurants and eateries.

“100 people have to wait to check into the hotel while another 100 people have to wait to check out. The travel agency is ready for everything, but the hotels and restaurants are not ready.”

She gave another example.

“Many restaurants have closed some of their outlets and reduced their capacity due to the pandemic. When a group of 100 people arrive, the restaurants do not have enough manpower and space to receive them. This is also one of the problems affecting the recovery of the tourism industry,” said Seow.

Although the borders have begun opening on April 1, the tourism, arts and culture ministry’s target of two million tourist arrivals has fallen short and has only recorded half of that by June.

Hotels, restaurants severely understaffed

When asked, MICA president Dr. Angie Ng said that due to Malaysia’s good anti-pandemic measures, many tourists from neighbouring countries can come here with confidence.

However, she said, the lack of hotel staff is still a problem for the tourism industry.

She said that the home ministry’s delays in approving foreign worker permits has resulted in a shortage of housekeeping staff in the hotel industry, and tour bus drivers.

She added that while the Ringgit’s devaluation has benefited inbound tours the higher fuel costs has increased the cost of outbound tours by 20%.

Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) president Paul Paw pointed out that in the recovery stage of the tourism industry, even if prices rise, the price of inbound tours cannot rise.

Due to the exchange rate between the US dollar and the ringgit for foreign tourists coming to Malaysia, travel agencies will have to make up the difference, otherwise the tourism industry will continue to face losses.

However, he said that although the borders have been reopened, the number of tourists entering the country is not large. Most tourists are backpacking and book hotel rooms on their own.

Therefore, the tourism industry has not fully recovered because of inflation and rising fuel prices, reduced number of flights, and higher travel costs.

He said that in the past two months, most of the tourists who came to Malaysia were from Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, and tourism operators were expecting Chinese tourists to come.

“There is a huge gap between the tourists arriving in Malaysia and those before Covid-19. Some travel agencies have not been able to fully recruit their former employees, and have to pay rent and salaries.

“The operators can only continue to promote tourism within a limited budget.”

Attract tourists to stay longer

Regarding the shortage of manpower in the tourism industry, Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) president Uzaidi Udanis believes that post-pandemic tourism should focus on quality rather than quantity.

“We hope that Malaysia can attract some tourists who are willing to stay in Malaysia for a long time, who are willing to spend money on hotels and enjoy food.”

He said that due to the severe manpower shortage in the tourism-related industry, even if a large number of tourists arrive, it is meaningless.

It may also be neglected due to the shortage of hotel staff and the shortage of restaurant staff.

“We want to attract tourists who travel long distances so that they can stay and spend a long time in the country. Middle haul markets such as India, Pakistan and tourists from the Middle East countries are also one of the targets.”

The devaluation of the ringgit, he stated was the best opportunity for foreign tourists to visit Malaysia.

When it comes to whether local tourism is affected by inflation, he does not deny it, especially the price of air tickets. Even for domestic tourism, air tickets from the peninsula to East Malaysia continue to rise.

He called on the government to help the tourism industry to address the shortage of manpower, low flights and traffic problems. The priority is to assist the tourism industry to recover, because tourism can boost the economy and promote the prosperity of the country. – June 14, 2022.