ALOR STAR – It doesn’t make sense for hotels to continue selling food by the roadside as a means to survive the Covid-19 pandemic.
Malaysian Association of Hotels Kedah and Perlis chapter chairman Eugene Dass said that interstate travel restrictions had contributed greatly to the dampened state of the tourism industry.
He said what is needed now is a holistic plan by the Tourism, Culture and Arts Ministry to help tourism sector businesses ride out the pandemic.
The federal government's aid and stimulus packages, he said, have so far been inadequate to bring the industry back on track, especially for hospitality properties.
Several hotel owners have resorted to temporary closures to an outright stoppage of business, with some even converting their properties into hostels or quarantine centres.
“But none of it is sustainable for the immediate future.
"The income earned from such measures cannot even cover costs.
“There is a deficit in our business volume," Dass told The Vibes.
He added tourism authorities have tried to help industry players by furnishing funds or giving innovative ideas on how hotels can survive the pandemic.
"We do not want to quarrel with the ministry or authorities.
“We are just asking for input and help.
“If we extend the interstate ban, how can hotels be expected to survive?"
He said that measures to fight the virus must now be accompanied with measures to alleviate the suffering of employees in the tourism sector.
He said closing hotels does little to salvage the situation, as costs to reopen them are still high.
This includes the cost of rehiring staffers as well as replacing skilled and experienced hoteliers.
Dass said that many trade associations have related their woes to the government.
"The time to listen should now be replaced with the time to act.
“The government must step in decisively to boost the industry,” he said.
Among the proposals by hoteliers are to allow those who have been vaccinated to travel, providing incentives, such as tax breaks, besides allowing meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) events to take place, amid tight regulations and standard operating procedures.
Others proposals include ensuring that operating costs are kept to the bare minimum so hotels can mitigate costs better and retain staffers, instead of retrenching them or cutting wages.
Dass also proposed for more training to be provided by the Human Resources Development Training Fund.
This includes language courses to enable hoteliers to converse fluently in English or in any basic trade languages, such as Mandarin or Hindi, besides brushing up on hospitality skills.
Also, chefs and cooks can be retrained to prepare tastier and nutritious cuisine to reduce the number of chronic diseases caused by eating unhealthy food. – The Vibes, March 4, 2021
