Vacation mode: Local tourists checking in at a hotel in Petaling Jaya. Hotels across the country are getting a boost in bookings for the Christmas and New Year holidays. GLENN GUAN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Hotel bookings are gradually picking up at popular tourist destinations for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
However, bookings in city areas in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor remain low, say industry players.
Malaysian Association of Hotels chief executive officer Yap Lip Seng said bookings were on the rise, mostly at resort hotels in beach and island areas, with hotel bookings in Kuala Lumpur remaining low.
PETALING JAYA: The taxes levied on cigarettes and tobacco products at all duty-free islands and zones is the right move as it will reduce demand for these products, say anti-smoking groups.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) coordinator for tobacco control and Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control secretary-general Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said the taxes imposed are “long overdue”.
“Malaysia is a party to the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that requires countries that signed on to implement the requirements under the convention. The convention requires the country to implement demand and supply reduction strategies.
“One of the ways of demand reduction is by increasing the price by way of additional tax. There should not be any tax-free status for any tobacco products under the convention. We welcome the move to abolish tax-free status for tobacco products in Malaysia. It is a long overdue decision, ” he said.
PETALING JAYA: The shorter Covid-19 quarantine period will be a sandbox for preparing Malaysia when it finally reopens its borders, say tourism industry players.
Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said shortening the quarantine period was a good move.
“Moving forward, it is positive news for domestic tourism, ” he said, referring to the movement of local tourists between the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.
Tan added that the new quarantine policy would also encourage foreign travellers to visit Malaysia when the borders reopen.
He also said that MATTA was in favour of the review for requirements in the quarantine policies and Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
MELAKA: Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali has made a clarion call to local tourism players that standard operating procedures (SOP) must be followed, as thousands of tourists throng the historic city during the weekend. I was informed that Melaka has witnessed heavy traffic congestion since Friday (Dec 11) and I hope everyone, especially tourist operators, will abide by the current SOP placed by authorities, he said in an interview here on Sunday (Dec 13).
Sulaiman said the priority is on the health and safety of both the tourists and locals in view of the present Covid-19 pandemic situation. Melaka welcomes all of you but please abide by the SOP, he said.
Published on: Friday, December 11, 2020
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Kota Kinabalu: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) hoped the State Government will review the requirement for travellers to have a Covid-19 test three days prior to scheduled arrival or departure.
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(pic) said this would help Sabah to revive the leisure market segment.
On the announcement by Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Arifin that the State Government had allocated over RM2 million financial aid to be distributed among 503 licensed travel and tour companies in Sabah, Tan described it as timely as the country prepares for the festive season.