KOTA BARU – Kelantan’s tourism sector suffered losses of RM2.6 billion last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said Community Unity, Culture, Heritage and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Md Anizam Abdul Rahman.
The pandemic has caused a lack of tourist arrivals to the state as people’s movements are restricted, resulting in a decline of 2.5 million tourists last year, Anizam said during the question-and-answer session at the state assembly sitting at the Kota Darulnaim Complex.
He was replying to a question from Mohd Syahbuddin Hashim (Galas-Umno) who wanted to know the status and estimated losses of the Kelantan tourism sector due to the implementation of movement controls to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Commenting further, Anizam said the state government has allocated RM724,750 to help affected industry players, such as hotels, homestay owners and tourist guides.
“Among the assistance we have provided is sanitation assistance to hotels registered with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry in the state. RM1,000 cash will also be given each to travel agencies, art enthusiasts, rickshaw drivers and others.
“Apart from the state government’s contribution, we have also received assistance from the federal government, which helped ease the burden of industry players,” he said.
He added that the state government, using the tourism bubble approach, has launched various promotions, including virtual ones, to revive the local tourism sector. – Bernama, August 25, 2021
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