Actions needed to prevent collapse of tourism industry

Teo

SANDAKAN: President of Sandakan Tourism Association, Teo Chee Kim, said urgent actions by the government was needed to prevent further collapse of the tourism industry amid the current Covid-19 pandemic.

“Tourism industry revival efforts begin with domestic tourism. Hence, our association welcomes all efforts by the Federal Government to revive the tourism industry,” he said.

Teo was responding to Federal Deputy Tourism, Art and Culture Minister Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, who said earlier this week that the Federal Government was doing what it could to assist the industry in Sabah as well as other parts of Malaysia.

“Without doubt, our tourism industry is the hardest hit sector during this crisis. It started back in late January this year, way before the Movement Control Order (MCO) was imposed in the country. As we can see around us in Sabah and Sandakan, souvenir shops, café, restaurants and even hotels are closing due to the impact of the pandemic.

“For an industry that brings in billions of revenue annually and provides millions of jobs, I think the industry merits every bit of immediate government intervention to keep it alive,” he added.

While agreeing with the deputy minister that tourism activities would be resumed in stages, Teo highlighted that the key to our tourism recovery had to begin with domestic tourism.

“With nearly all countries around the world having their borders closed for now, it will take some time before international travel can resume. Domestic tourism will be the key to cushion the collapse of the international tourist arrival in the next one to two years.

“Therefore, it is imperative that the Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture in collaboration with Ministry of Health as well as relevant local authorities, draw up a blueprint to enable domestic tourism to flourish without compromising the health and safety of the locals.

“There is no point talking about domestic tourism if West Malaysians are not allowed to enter Sabah or anyone coming in from outside the district of Sandakan needs to undergo 14 days quarantine upon arrival here. The government needs to establish a workable ‘air bridge”’ between East and West Malaysia where people can travel freely between states without undermining efforts in combating the Covid-19 pandemic,” Teo said.

In addition, he said the Sandakan Tourism Association would also like to suggest that the government consider providing travel vouchers to all frontliners as a gesture of appreciation as well as to spur the recovery of the tourism industry.

“We need to refocus on our Cuti-Cuti Malaysia campaign with greater urgency and vigour. We need to entice and invite Malaysians to explore and discover our own backyard, not only to appreciate the beauty of our own country, but also to provide a beacon of light along the path of a long and winding road to tourism revival for the country,” he explained.

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