Liaw
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Satta) yesterday welcomed the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s announcement to channel RM3,000 to help businesses, especially tour agencies, in a one-off special assistance under the Strategic Programme to Empower the People and Economy (Pemerkasa) package.
Satta president Datuk Seri Winston Liaw said the special aid was akin to giving travel agencies umbrella on a rainy day.
Nevertheless, he said the government should focus on the long-term sustainability of the tourism industry, specifically on how to assist industry players in staying afloat until the end of 2021 at least.
He pointed out that travel agencies were being weighed down with their financial commitment on tour buses, infrastructure at attractions, speed boats, office rental, loan repayment for self-owned premises, electricity, internet and telephone bills.
“All these fixed overhead costs will kill the tour agents.
“We can hardly survive till the end of this year when herd immunity is only achieved by then.”
Satta strongly requested the Prime Minister to instruct all banks to give moratorium on loan repayments for another six months for tourism industry players to stay afloat.
“We should look into how to get more vaccines and get everyone vaccinated by July or August.
“China has eased the visas for 26 countries which are using China vaccines, meaning they will open up borders for these countries as soon as possible, but Malaysia is not on the list.
“Only the influx of international tourists to Malaysia when our international borders reopen can save the nation’s economy, particularly Sabah which is very much dependent on tourist spending to trigger a chain reaction for economic recovery.”
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