GEORGE TOWN – The Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) has released revenue figures for the industry estimating a minimum loss of RM300 million for every two weeks of the movement control order (MCO).
MAH president Datuk N. Subramaniam said the industry will collapse if nothing strategic is undertaken by the federal government to support it, with losses by year-end expected to run into the billions.
Subramaniam, who is also CEO of PCB Resort at Pantai Cahaya Bulan beach in Kelantan, said immediate help is needed to keep hotels afloat, especially as the industry has already incurred an estimated RM6.5 billion in revenue losses.
In an emergency meeting last Thursday with the Tourism, Culture and Arts Ministry, the association had submitted a 19-point proposal for immediate assistance. It is understood that the ministry’s officials are compiling the information for presentation to the cabinet.
The proposal calls for higher wage subsidies to prevent retrenchments and lower utility costs, including for electricity, telecommunications and water, as well as waivers on local council assessments and licensing fees.
While some of these are long-standing proposals that the industry has submitted before, they are of utmost urgency considering the worsening pandemic situation, Subramaniam said.
“The tourism and hotel industry employs 3.6 million employees, and it is one of the contributors to the country’s economy,” Subramaniam said in a statement.
“It must not be allowed to collapse. We must be ready for recovery and to maintain our tourism capacity as well as competitiveness in the region.”
The harsh reality is that more than 100 hotels have ceased operations since last March and this affects over 7,000 employees directly, he said.
More workers are losing their jobs indirectly by having prolonged pay-cuts or being forced to take unpaid leave, said Subramaniam.
MAH was also instrumental in contributing to a detailed white paper on tourism and hotels, which was presented to the Tourism Malaysia board and contained various proposals, including additional assistance to the industry.
The white paper also contained a six-phase border reopening plan to allow the industry to receive international tourists again in stages.
It also calls for hoteliers to be among the initial group of frontliners to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, industry insiders said the hospitality industry is suffering from multiple challenges that have made the recovery outlook bleak, despite the impending roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine to bring down the infection rate.
Hotels have also been affected by illegal homestay operators, home-sharing accommodation applications, a glut in rooms and lacklustre tourism arrivals for the three years before the pandemic struck last year.
These have impeded the ability of hotels to survive, with many giving up as they also have to deal with high living cost margins from escalating prices in food, services and wage demands. – The Vibes, February 6, 2021
