Moving with caution

PETALING JAYA: Players in the tourism sector are looking forward to a revival with the lifting of travel restrictions, but much of it comes with trepidation.

For a start, the record numbers of new Covid-19 cases seen daily can still dampen enthusiasm to travel. Secondly, a health expert has warned that an influx of travellers will raise the risk of infections.

The easing of restrictions means that year-end holiday plans that have earlier been shelved can now proceed, and the hotel industry is expecting a pick-up in occupancy rates.

However, Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) chief executive officer Yap Lip Seng said it will not be as good as in June, when a significant drop in the number of new infections led to a reopening of the tourism market.

“Given the high number of new cases every day, the current situation is still unfavourable,” Yap told theSun.

For now, domestic tourism remains the lifeline of the travel and hospitality sectors. Yap said it will support industry efforts to help people retain jobs but it comes with a big sacrifice – hoteliers have had to reduce room rates significantly.

Hotel occupancy peaked at 42% during the Merdeka Day holidays in August, before stabilising at approximately 39% in September. But it took a dive with the third wave of Covid-19 infections in October and is now hovering at about 20%.

In an effort to prevent new infections, MAH has spearheaded a safety and hygiene certification with the introduction of the “Clean and Safe Malaysia” label as well as incorporating extended safety and health guidelines.

It has engaged with various authorities in drafting standard operating procedures (SOP) to ensure the safety of hotel guests.

Hotelier Jalaludeen Ariff sees the easing of travel restrictions as a big relief for domestic tourism.

The director of sales and marketing at Seri Pacific Hotel Kuala Lumpur said he is anticipating many new bookings.

“It will be a slow but consistent pick-up in the coming months as we expect an increase in not only leisure travel but also business travel,” he said.

“We were looking forward to a boom like never before this year, what with the advertising blitz worldwide to drive the ‘Visit Malaysia 2020’ campaign early this year,” he said.

But it has all come to naught, thanks to Covid-19.

Another business segment that will gain from the expected boost in travel is highway operations.

PLUS Malaysia Bhd, the concessionaire for the North-South Highway, expects the daily volume of traffic to recover to the same level as when the recovery movement control order was imposed in June.

“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, we were seeing about 1.7 million vehicles per day but it dipped to about a million in March with the imposition of the movement control order,” said PLUS head of corporate, community and public engagement, Syed Mohammed Idid.

It rose to about 1.5 million in June but dipped again to about a million with the implementation of the conditional movement control order in October. The company expects the latest easing of travel restrictions to help the volume of traffic return to the 1.5 million level.

However, public health expert Datuk Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud struck a note of caution on the risk of transmission.

He said it is the responsibility of every individual and organisation to keep the coronavirus at bay.

Source: TheSunDaily