Sabah Tourist Association helps members help each other

By Olivia Miwil - June 29, 2020 @ 9:59am

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Tourist Association is extending assistance to its members to jumpstart the revival of the tourism industry after months of shut down due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Its chairman Tonny Chew said the initiative was in the form of a stimulus voucher of RM300, which the member will have to spend to support another member's tourism services, activities, entrance fees, or products.

"During this Covid-19 era, the association realises the importance of the #KitaJagaKita spirit," he said, referring to the hashtag phrase which became viral on social media at the height of the outbreak in Malaysia.

#KitaJagaKita translates to "we take care of each other".

"Charity begins at home. Though our members are from a wide array of tourism stakeholders, we work together to provide the best services to tourists and to support each other in this business downturn," he said in a statement.

Chew added that their members comprised of tour operators, tourism transport operators, accommodation providers, dive resort operators, shopping malls, tourism training institutes, restaurants, business chambers, among others.

He said that for many members, it was now about surviving 2020, and rebuilding in 2021, when international visitors were expected to return to Sabah.

"This STA Stimulus Voucher is a small step towards boosting spending as the tourism industry struggles to recover from the toughest jolt to the industry by far."

Sabah tourist arrivals from other states as well as international dropped 63.5 per cent in the first three months this year as compared to last year.

The state government has temporarily halted all incoming international flights since late January to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to the people of Sabah.

On June 18, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal announced the "Sabah New Deal" for the revival of the state economy.

For the tourism industry, the package has allocated RM22 million for the tourism sector to improve infrastructure, discounts for entrance fees, and incentives for hoteliers among others.