GEORGE TOWN – The outgoing chief executive officer of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) has called for the inclusion of new ideas and innovation to help tourism rebound faster after over two years of lockdowns due to Covid-19.
Yap Lip Seng, who did not renew his contract with MAH, said that moving forward, the umbrella organisation for hoteliers needs to revamp its leadership and strategies to propel tourism forward despite some of the greatest challenges it had ever faced.
The industry is not just stricken by the economic effects of Covid-19, but also by an acute shortage of staff, rising operational costs, and a lacklustre pace in wooing foreign tourists.
Even granting that more tourist arrivals over time may ease the challenges and monetary pressure faced by the hospitality industry, hotels must incorporate new measures to arrest the decline in service quality to compete globally, regain momentum, and improve profit margins, he said.
Yap said the private sector must power the economy, making it crucial to ensure that associations such as MAH are led by industry practitioners who are active on the ground and connected to the tourism ecosystem.
“As the industry moves towards recovery, it will be a timely opportunity to review and revamp its leadership and strategies,” said Yap in an interview.
MAH can expand its role in the industry further using data analytics, as well as by engaging in retraining, he added.
Yap also urged hoteliers to work with the different ministries to make the vocation in the hospitality industry more appealing to the young.
“We need to first acknowledge that the current manpower issue is first caused by a loss of interest in the industry, partly caused by the pandemic. A high-level rebranding exercise is needed for the hospitality industry, to represent hospitality as a career of choice,” he said.
He also wants more effort made to cultivate meaningful ties between the private sector and the Tourism, Culture, and Arts Ministry to drive the industry forward.
Former Langkawi Development Authority tourism manager Datuk Megat Shahrul Azman Abas said that to boost recovery, the private sector needs to understand the importance of working with the public sector.
Tourism is the third biggest contributor to the country’s economy after manufacturing, and commodities, said Megat Shahrul.
Its gross value is estimated to be at RM199.4 billion in 2020 with major potential for further expansion with the economy reopening, he added.
He is of the opinion that only by collaborating closely can public and private entities stimulate recovery while also generating spillover benefits to others.
“We must find ways to co-exist and cast aside our differences in how to market tourism. Both the public and private sectors need each other. Unity is the way forward.”
Tourism also creates many job opportunities, although it has been marred by the shift of youth towards the gig economy after Covid-19 caused massive layoffs in the sector.
Meanwhile, MAH vice-president Khoo Boo Lim urged his fellow hoteliers to embrace the new technology innovations in view of the acute shortage of workers.
“It may be costlier in the short-term but in the long-term the investments can be recouped, and it can be an asset towards helping the service industry survive the post-pandemic era,” Khoo said in an interview.
He said that having robots play roles in operational areas such as the front desk and food and beverage may be something tourists have come to accept now.
“But we must also find a way to ensure our services remain at the top level so that tourists can be impressed and become return visitors to our country.”
Khoo also said that tourists have a high expectation of the service industry because they are used to top standards when patronising hotels and other tourism-related places.
Hence, he said, the move into digitalisation is lauded but there must also not be a shortfall in the quality of services rendered. – The Vibes, May 28, 2022
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