Liaw
KOTA KINABALU: Tourism players are expecting a slow improvement in the market for the first quarter of 2021 but remain optimistic that the tourism industry will rebound strongly as Malaysians start receiving Covid-19 vaccines by March next year.
Soon as Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccination programme rolls out, Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Satta) president Datuk Seri Winston Liaw speculated bright prospects for the remaining of year 2021.
“The chain reaction from the tourism industry will drive our economy to another new height in one to two years,” he said when contacted to comment about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism industry and outlook for 2021.
Liaw said the tourism industry had declined sharply since February this year due to Covid-19 and ultimately business plummeted to zero when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented on March 18, resulting in a complete lockdown for the industry.
“In May, the tourism market rebounded slightly during the Conditional MCO (CMCO) phase.
“During the Recovery MCO (RMCO) phase, the government relaxed the restrictions on interstate travel.
“Both the government and private sector joined hands to promote domestic tourism and there had been little improvement.
“Industry players were delighted to see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Unfortunately after the state election, Liaw said Sabah was plunged into deep trouble as the number of Covid-19 cases surged and more and more clusters emerged, dampening the road to recovery.
He said the government had no choice but to re-enforce the CMCO, leading to another decline in the tourism sector.
Furthermore, he said the moratorium on loan repayment that ended in September made it difficult for many travel agents, resorts and tour operators to sustain huge overhead costs.
Consequently, many tourism players tend to lay off or retrench at least two-third of their staff.
“Most industry players instructed their employees to work from home on alternate days, meaning work for three days weekly at half salary or go on unpaid leave.”
As financial institutions resumed loan repayment, Liaw lamented that many half-dead organizations decided to close temporarily until the international border reopened.
“They need to reserve their funds to be ready for reviving their tourism business once the international border reopened.”
According to major tourism industry leaders, he said more than 80 percent of the industry players were either closed down for good or temporarily dormant.
“Their employees were asked to look for other jobs or come up with marketing strategy to sell seafood or any kinds of essential goods to earn a living and provide for their family.”
He said some employees of the tourism industry became Grab delivery drivers, which was faring better now than pre-Covid-19.
Nevertheless, Liaw said Satta thanked the State Government for giving out a one-off relief fund of RM4,000 to each travel agency to help the employers.
“Although we cannot rely on the government to give us long-term assistance, we are heartened by the government’s concern.”
On another note, he said there has been positive sign of recovery since the inter-district and interstate travel restrictions were relaxed on December 7.
“Local tourists mostly visit to rural areas where there are fresh air and open air environment which is safer and more secure.”
He said some hotels like Gaya Centre Hotel have resumed business starting December 21 to welcome the reopening of domestic travel, which was a good sign to the industry.
He said the tourism industry would have to learn and cope with the new norms and observe the standard operating procedures (SOPs) even during post-Covid-19 travels to ensure long-term safety for our country that could not afford another wave of attack.
“Tour guides play a very important role in reminding tourists as far as hygiene is concerned.”
Come 2021, Liaw expected a slow improvement in the tourism market for the first quarter.
“After the people start getting immunized against Covid-19 in March, the tourism industry will strongly rebound.”
He was optimistic of a bright prospect for the rest of 2021, with chain reaction from the tourism industry driving the economy to new heights in one to two years.
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