By Lim Guan Eng
PENANGITES are sad that the five-star Equatorial Hotel Penang will be closing before March 31, 2021, de to “adverse business conditions caused by COVID-19”. Penangites have fond memories of Equatorial Hotel as one of the earliest 5-star hotels in Penang, brought in by the late Penang Chief Minister Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.
As UNESCO World Heritage site, the twin cities of George Town and Melaka have both lost their earliest 5-star hotels. Ramada Plaza Melaka (formerly known as Renaissance Melaka) closed down in May 2020. This shows how the serious adverse impact of the global pandemic COVID-19 on the local tourism industry, which lost an estimated RM100 bil in revenue in 2020.
Despite the RM100 bil loss in revenue in 2020, the unelected Perikatan Nasional (PN) Government has not done enough to aid and save the tourism industry. Not just hotels, but many tourist agencies and bus operators have closed shop. If the basic infrastructure of tourism either collapses or close down, how can Malaysia benefit from any revival of the tourist industry.
Unfortunately, many cabinet ministers are in denial. Instead of facilitating bank loans or an automatic loan moratorium, Tourism Minister Nancy Shukri appears to be in trapped in a different reality.
She said that whilst 109 establishments in the hotel sector and 95 tourism agencies have closed down, her ministry approved new licence applications from 135 tourism companies and operators last year. This is ridiculous. Can Nancy please tell us where are the new tourism agencies in Malaysia?
In the 2021 Budget, the Tourism Ministry continues to adopt an “ostrich in the sand approach” by predicting that the average hotel occupancy for 2020 will be 61.1% and 58.4% in 2021.
How can the Tourism Ministry stick to its projection of 61.1% hotel occupancy for 2020 when the tourism industry faces RM100 bil in losses?
The closure of Hotel Equatorial Penang shows that the Tourism Ministry’s projected 58.4% hotel occupancy rate for 2021 is patently absurd. Such false and unrealistic rosy projections will damage public confidence that the Government knows how to do its job to save our tourism industry.
Can the Emergency and suspension of Parliament help to save our hotels and tourism industry? – Jan 27, 2021
Lim Guan Eng is the former Finance Minister and MP for Bagan.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
