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JOHOR BAHRU: Thirteen hotels in Johor have ceased operations amid the spread of COVID-19 in Malaysia this year, the chairman of the state’s Tourism, Youth and Sports Committee said on Tuesday (December 1), without naming the affected establishments. .
Onn Hafiz Ghazi told the Johor State Legislative Assembly that the closure of the Malaysia-Singapore border and the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) has caused the average occupancy rate in hotels to drop to around the 28% in August this year, compared with around 57% in 2019.
The COVID-19 situation also caused local tour guides to lose their source of income, while the number of visitors in theme parks and shopping centers dropped, he added.
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Onn Hafiz said that the state government is aware of the importance of reopening the border between Malaysia and Singapore, especially for the tourism sector.
For the reopening of the border to be successful, Onn Hafiz said “understanding and agreement” is required between the state government, the federal government and the government of Singapore. You must also take into account health and safety factors, such as the number of cases in both countries.
He added that the Johor government has provided various initiatives to ensure that the state’s tourism sector can survive COVID-19 and remain viable in the future.
These initiatives include providing a one-time contribution of RM1,000 (US $ 245) to registered tour guides and exemption from the payment of business licenses and entertainment rights under the Ihsan Johor 2020 Economic Stimulus Package to assist industry players. of tourism.
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“For next year, the state government will implement initiatives such as the revision of the Johor State Tourism Master Plan 2014-2023 to ensure that the direction of the tourism sector can be planned in a more organized manner and in line with current trends.” , said.
Malaysia posted a four-digit increase in COVID-19 cases on Monday for the fourth day in a row. The country is currently battling its third wave of COVID-19 and has reported a total of 65,697 COVID-19 cases and 360 deaths as of Monday.
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