Tourism sector has to bite the bullet for now

By Zaidi Isham Ismail
editor@dagangnews.com

During good times, it cannot be disputed that the tourism sector had contributed immensely to the country's earnings.

The tourism sector was the blue-eyed boy among the nation's revenue churners becoming a significant income earner to the nation's gross domestic product.

But now, the industry is among the hardest hit by COVID-19 and unfortunately is a serious casualty.

Malaysian Hotel Owners Association reportedly said that hotels are at five% occupancy rates and tourist guides are severely affected with no income to support their families.

Tour operators meanwhile have all but depleted their savings and resources to pay the banks the hire purchase loans of their tour buses.

These are indeed the dark days of the tourism industry with no immediate panacea in sight.

But the government is not entirely oblivious to their plight.

Under Budget 2021, the government had earmarked RM50 million to reskill and upskill 8,000 aviation workers. 

There were also grants for the sector in Sabah and incentives for workers in the field under the Human Resource Development Fund.

But that is all that the government can do for now.

Because the fact of the matter is, the rakyat is still afraid of contracting this horrible disease.

The rakyat is still terrified to fly, go to the mall, let alone sightsee the beautiful tourist attractions in and outside the country.

As harsh as it sounds, and with the deepest respect and thoughtfulness, the tourism and travel industry just have to grit their teeth for now.

They just have to wait it out and pray to the heavens that there will be a vaccine soon.

"The harsh truth is that nobody wants to travel right now. Everybody is scared and not willing to travel.

That was why the government gave very little incentives for the tourism sector under Budget 2021. 

"What's the point? People are still afraid to travel," a banker from Maybank told DagangNews.com.

He added it would be pointless for the government to inject funds into the tourism sector which has no prospects at the moment.

PwC tax consultant Fung Mei Ling told BFM recently the small allocation under the budget can be seen as a preparatory measure for the sector next year.

It is a dire situation right now for the sector and the International Air Transportation Association or IATA said the tourism industry will only recover by 2024.

CNN reported last week that the cruise ship Sea Dream in the Carribbean found that two of its passengers were positive for COVID-19 despite being tested negative right before the trip.

This just sums up the gravity of the situation and illustrates what the frontliners are facing - an extremely virile and stubborn virus.

But perhaps there is light for the sector at the end of the tunnel.

Singapore and Hong Kong have launched their very own travel bubble, a dedicated travel lane for tourists to ply only between the two nations.

Local hotels are also offering WFH or work from hotel packages to tourists and executives complete with WiFi connection and free flowing coffee in the rooms all day long between 8am and 7pm from as low as RM100 per day.

And Pfizer and Moderna also announced that its vaccine has 90 % efficacy rate against the virus.

It is hoped that all these endeavours will be able to alleviate the challenges faced by the sector.

The tourism and travel industry should not fret but instead be ready for the possible economic rebound which Bank Negara Malaysia said might take place next year.

But until then, and as insensitive as it sounds, the sector must for now bite the bullet until this pandemic ends.  -  DagangNews.com

The writer is a former NST Business assistant editor.