KUCHING: The Sarawak Tourism Federation [STF) believes that the Federal Government should postpone the implementation of the Tourism Tax.
STF also calls for mature and polite discussion and debate on this tax. The timing of the new tourism tax is not right.
Hotels in Sarawak are currently experiencing low occupancy rates.
For example, hotels in Miri are being impacted by the downtown in the oil and gas industry.
Hotel occupancy rates in Kuching are also relatively low.
Sarawak’s tourism industry has only recently recovered from a series of external events that resulted in a downturn in revenue for many tourism players over the period from 2013 -2015 and 2016 was the first good year albeit with reduced profitability after many years of lower arrivals from high yield markets.
In addition, hotel demand in Sarawak is largely domestic so Malaysians will pay the bulk of tourism tax revenue. This is another burden on the rakyat who are already facing increased costs and additional taxes.
Postponing the tourism tax will give the government time to review the tax; better liaise and communicate with private sector tourism players; and give hotels the required time to re-configure their software and back end systems.
The Federal Government’s communication and consultation efforts on this tax have been weak.
Furthermore, the Federal Minister of Tourism’s recent remarks have not helped matters.
More needs to be done to explain this tax and more details should be provided on the distribution of tourism tax revenue to the States.
STF supports the Sarawak Government’s stand that the implementation of the Tourism Tax should be postponed.
