Unable to provide buffet dine-ins during the Ramadan period, two hotels in Kuala Lumpur have switched to offering food takeaways and delivery options for the breaking of fast.
Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel, for instance, offers a wide selection of a la carte dishes, as well as set menus suitable for four to five people, all created by the hotel’s executive sous chef Hazif Ramli and his team.
Guests may not be able to dine in at Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, but they can still enjoy the hotel’s culinary dishes via delivery this Ramadan
Mel Hamid, manager, digital & marketing communications at Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, shared: “The dishes are specially crafted by our top chefs, using only premium ingredients and we have reduced the prices to reach more customers. With delivery and pick-up services, we are bringing convenience to our guests who are not able to visit their favourite restaurants.”
The property has also forecasted a reduced F&B revenue for this Ramadan, as compared to the previous Ramadan, when revenue was 20 per cent above projection.
Another five-star property in the city, Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur, offers six curated set menus by executive sous chef Budiman and his team of culinary experts. Delivery and pick-up are also available.
Traditionally, Ramadan buffets make up 30 per cent of the property’s F&B revenues.
However, Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur’s general manager, Michael Delargy, said: “The situation is so unique, hence, there are no real revenue expectations, but a desire to allow our chefs to demonstrate their skills, and allow our guests to enjoy their Buka Puasa (breaking of fast).”
“The expectation this year is really about doing our best to allow guests at home to sample the quality and style of dishes that they usually would expect at the hotel,” he added.
Malaysia is still under a strict movement control order (MCO) and there are no dine-ins at least until May 12. It also remains to be seen if the MCO will end as scheduled, or be extended for a fourth time.
Expique's tuk tuk drivers have returned to their hometowns to farm as there are no tourists
Thailand’s community-based tourism (CBT) operators and beneficiaries are proving their resilience as tourism grinds to a halt amid the coronavirus, with affected communities returning to their main economic activity of agriculture or diversifying to food delivery to sustain livelihoods.
“For these communities, the money that they gain from community-based tourism is still a secondary source of income,” explained Somsak Boonkam, founder and CEO of Local Alike.
Expique’s tuk tuk drivers return to their hometowns to farm as there are no tourists
“They still maintain their core business of agricultural production. But, the latter has also been impacted because they have fewer customers, and face logistical challenges in moving products due to the government restrictions at the moment.”
Somsak helped spearhead the CBT movement in Thailand when founding his award-winning company seven years ago. Local Alike now works with more than 100 local communities in 46 provinces and has generated over 54 million baht (US$1.6 million) to benefit local communities since its inception.
Somsak: exploring numerous revenue streams to help CBT communities in this trying period
Asked if the loss of tourism income worries communities, and how they plan to adapt, Somsak stated that most communities are using the downtime to prepare for the rebound.
The Local Alike team is also trying to help communities create other streams of income. Last August, Somsak founded the Local Aroi community fine-dining initiative, which they turned into a food delivery service since this April.
“We have to work harder on this (initiative). We haven’t reached our targets with the food delivery because the fixed costs are high. We’re also experimenting with e-commerce for local community products on our social media channels,” he said.
Another segment of the industry affected are freelance guides from local communities. “All our 20 guides are freelancers and about 50 per cent rely almost exclusively on guiding for their income. Most of them have been severely impacted – a few are venturing into new businesses,” said Simon Philippe, founder of Expique tuk tuk tours in Bangkok.
“As a result, half of our drivers have returned to their hometowns (mainly in Isaan) either to save costs or because they have other opportunities to earn there – normally agriculture.”
He added: “I think it is safe to say our drivers have lost at least 70 per cent of their income. Some applied for the 5000 baht from Social Security. A few received it but most did not hear back or got rejected.”
Expique is partnering with Food for Fighters, a non-profit food delivery service for medical personnel, to create alternative income for its drivers.
However, he added, they are “slightly cautious” about investing too much effort and resources into their food delivery venture as they do not see long-term prospects in the sector.
The World Elephant Foundation (WEF) has launched the Save the Asian Elephant campaign to raise funds and awareness of the mammals’ plight amid lockdowns, as elephants in shelters and parks throughout Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos face starvation as tourism dries up.
The crux of the matter lies in the fact that the elephant shelters and parks rely on tourism for revenue. WEF intends to set up a registry for rescue organisations and sanctuaries to indicate their numbers and needs. This will allow the organisation to embark on a coordinated approach to help the animals across the Greater Mekong region.
WEF launches campaign to save Thai elephants from starvation as tourism collapses
In a press statement, Nudplee Hamundee, director, WEF, called on those concerned for the welfare of the animals to sponsor an individual elephant. He explained that no government support is provided for the mammals, who may then be “sold for illegal logging or hard labour” or have no option but to starve to death. Pregnant female elephants may also be smuggled.
He added that the situation has been made more dire as it is the dry season and there is a lack of jungle remaining. Instead of giving the animals fresh plants or vegetation, elephant carers have had to purchase food from farms. However, they are running out of cash, said Hamundee.
Hamundee expressed hope that concerned tourists who have visited the region will show solidarity by contributing to the campaign’s initiatives.
The plight of the elephants is the latest warning sign of the risks faced by tourism-reliant economies and communities. As visitor arrivals began to fall in mid-January, the elephant owners and herders were not spared from the financial distress that gripped most individuals and businesses in the tourism sector, said Hamundee in the statement.
Besides being used to feed the animals, funds raised at elephant camps and sanctuaries were also used to “further animal welfare, combat smuggling and encourage conservation and habitat restoration”, he added.
The livelihoods of Kui hill tribes in Surin, Thailand as well as Cambodia and Laos have been severely impacted as they have been breeding elephants to be sold to sanctuaries so tourists could interact with the mammals.
Temporarily-shuttered Indonesian zoos are struggling to afford animal feed, as well as ensure business continuity, as the coronavirus lockdown keeps visitors away.
For now, Jawa Timur Park Group in East Java is still able to continue feeding their animals at three spots – Batu Secret Zoo, Eco Green Park, and Predator Fun Park – according to its marketing & PR manager, Titik Ariyanto.
A zookeeper feeds a monkey at Taman Safari Park, which is among several zoos in Indonesia facing depleting food supplies
However, she said, such capacity might last only until June. After which, the zoo would face difficulty feeding their animals, without the income generated from visitors since its closure on March 20.
“Batu Secret Zoo poses the hardest challenge because just for feeding wild animals alone, we have to prepare at least 500 million rupiah (US$32,600) a month. In total, we need nearly one billion rupiah a month (to feed all the animals in the zoo),” Titik said.
To ensure that the animals continue getting fed during this crisis, Jawa Timur Park Group has resorted to layoffs and pay cuts.
Titik said that her office had sent letters to the Health Care and Social Security Agency to defer insurance premium payments, as well as to the state-owned electricity firm PLN to get a discount for their electricity bills.
“Although we are closed, we still use electricity to maintain our rides and fun attractions. We are afraid that they will break down if we don’t turn them on (during the closure),” she said.
The Indonesian Zoo Association (PKBSI), which represents 57 conservation bodies that take care of a combined 4,912 species and 68,933 animals, has sent a letter to president Joko Widodo last week to ask for financial assistance from the government, ranging from tax relaxation to cash transfer from state budget or city budget, according to its chairman, Rahmat Shah.
The cash transfer that PKBSI proposed amounts to 38.5 billion rupiah a month, comprising 23 billion for zoo workers, 14.5 billion for animal feed, and nearly one billion for animal medication, in addition to temporary exemptions from paying salary taxes, as well as land and building taxes.
“Although all zoos have shut down, we cannot stop feeding animals (during the closure). All animals in the conservation bodies are owned by the state and we (conservation institutions) are like day-care centres. So we have to get the government’s permission if we want to transfer or exchange animals,” Rahmat said.
Amid this crisis, he said, conservation bodies show varying degrees of financial strengths. Some 23.7 per cent stated that they have no financial capacity at all; while 23 per cent can survive less than one month; 34 per cent, one to three months; and 18.4 per cent, more than three months.
Zoos lacking the financial capability are now being helped by other members of PKBSI to feed their animals, according to Rahmat. “So far, all animals in conservation bodies across Indonesia are safe,” he added.
Both Ketut Widarsana, spokesperson of Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta, and Yulius Suprihardo, spokesperson of Taman Safari Indonesia in Bogor, West Java, said that their zookeepers are still working as per normal and they were doing their best to provide company and nurture for animals, but they now wear masks, gloves and other protective gear to prevent virus transmission from humans to animals.
Although the two sites have closed their doors to the public, animal care, cleaning and feeding continues, according to Ketut and Yulius. The sites and cages are also disinfected regularly to keep the animals safe.
PKBSI hopes that the government will provide immediate aid to zoos across the country as the sector employs 22,000 workers, attracts more than 50 million visitors annually, and contributes 500 billion rupiah a year to the country’s GDP.
The Malaysia Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA) has called on the government to draft an act to protect hoteliers amid the pandemic.
Its national deputy president, Sri Ganesh Michiel, said in a statement that the association had received negative feedback from its members that the Special Relief Fund (SRF) rolled out by the government was “not friendly” to the industry.
Malaysia Budget Hotel Association urge government to pass law to protect hoteliers; a budget hotel in Penang pictured
“The banking and financial institutions (have been) avoiding the hotel industry as they misunderstood (it to be) a high-risk industry,” he said.
The government has set aside RM5 billion (US$1.1 billion) under the SRF to provide financial relief for SMEs affected by Covid-19.
Sri Ganesh, who is also MyBHA’s national legal and information and communications technology bureau chairman, said: “Most of the hotels are on a rented property where the government had announced that all the property owners shall give a discount for the rental of their properties.”
However, he alleged that the property owners were taking advantage of the situation by refusing or being reluctant to waive or reduce rent for their tenants who had invested in converting the property into a hotel.
He also noted that the owners are currently enjoying the moratorium periods in their property loan facility, adding that it wasn’t fair to its members who are making losses. He opined that tenants risked losing possession of their hotels, as they were unable to pay rent to the landlord.
Sri Ganesh added that this situation could result in hotel closures, and the rise of legal cases, as well as bankruptcies and retrenchments.
The former tourism secretary of the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT), Ramon “Mon” Jimenez, Jr has passed away this week at the age of 64.
The DOT’s present chief, Bernadette Romulo Puyat, has issued a statement, paying tribute to the “immeasurable contributions of secretary Jimenez who laid down the foundation for the country’s most famous tourism campaign, It’s More Fun in the Philippines”.
Puyat added that he was also behind many DOT policies that helped shape the National Tourism Development Program (NTDP) for 2016-2022.
“Today, we mourn the loss of Mon Jimenez but we will be forever grateful to him for the growth of the tourism sector, and for promoting the Philippines as a place that is wonderful, joyous and fun,” said Puyat.
With metro Manila still on lockdown, friends and former colleagues from the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association as well as other tourism sectors have arranged for a virtual eulogy in remembrance of Jimenez.
The virtual eulogy will be held on Facebook on April 29, 19.30 local time, right after the virtual mass on Jimenez’s Facebook account.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made an official request to postpone the Expo 2020 Dubai until next October due to the coronavirus, announced The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) on Saturday (April 4).
The Paris-based organisation said in a statement that the decision was made following consultations with the BIE, participating countries and key stakeholders. UAE’s proposed opening dates of Expo 2020 Dubai are from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
UAE proposes one-year delay for Expo 2020 Dubai
The UAE has also requested to continue using the name Expo 2020 Dubai for the event, despite the change in dates.
The BIE said that the Executive Committee will hold a virtual meeting on April 21 to discuss the options for a change of dates. For the proposal to be green-lit, it requires the approval of two-thirds majority of BIE member states, with the final decision expected in June.
The Executive Committee of the BIE is formed by delegates from 12 member states. They were elected by the BIE’s General Assembly.
Expo 2020 Dubai was expected to attract about 25 million visitors to the six-month event, which was slated to launch this October.
Although there had been talks of lifting the state of emergency at the end of this month, Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on April 27 announced it will extend its emergency decree until the end of May.
Amid low numbers of new coronavirus cases, CCSA considered the measures effective in flattening the curve.
A proposed colour-coded venue-categorising system will indicate when businesses and public areas could reopen
Therefore, under the executive order, the six-hour curfew from 22.00 to 04.00, prohibition of mass gatherings, inter-provincial travel restrictions and ban on travel into Thailand will continue for another month, while the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) also announced incoming non-essential international flights will be suspended until May 31.
The cabinet is also in talks about whether to postpone all public holidays in May and move them to a later date, including Labour Day, Coronation Day, Visakha Puja Day and the Royal Ploughing Ceremony, a decision which is expected to be announced today.
Meanwhile, Suvarnabhumi Airport, which used the past month’s hiatus to repair and renovate, is prepared for the gradual resumption of domestic flights. Thai AirAsia and Thai Lion Air have announced they will resume flights on May 1, and will enforce compulsory measures from the CAAT such as social distancing between seats, and no drinks or food served on flights.
The CCSA has also floated a potential venue-categorising system that would see businesses and public areas divided under white, green, yellow, and red codes based on associated risks. Under the proposed coding system, Thai businesses shut down since March 22 will reopen in stages, starting with the White category – those deemed low-risk and essential to everyday life, and situated in the open air, including street hawkers and vendors – in the first week of May.
These would be followed by public parks, exercise facilities in the open air and small shops, both air-conditioned and non-air conditioned, under the Green category in mid-May.
Mid-risk venues with more crowding are categorised Yellow and could reopen beginning of June – fresh markets, street markets, food centres, malls, salons, dental and beauty clinics and swimming pools.
Red “high-risk” businesses would only be able to resume mid-June. These include pubs, gyms, movie theatres, massage parlours, stadiums, exhibition halls and meeting facilities.
Social distancing and hygiene measures would continue to be enforced in all situations. Hotels are not on the list as their closures were ordered on a provincial basis; provinces such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai do not have hotel closure orders.
Airbnb will roll out in May the Enhanced Cleaning Initiative — the first standardised protocol for sanitisation and cleaning in the home-sharing industry.
Guests will be able to search for homes certified under the programme, which have met expert-backed guidelines and cleaning procedures.
Homes of hosts who adhere to and perform the recommended level of cleaning will be listed under a special collection on the Airbnb website
Experts contributing to the programme include Vivek Murthy, former surgeon-general of the US, who helmed the country’s responses to the Ebola and Zika outbreaks, and employees from hospitality and medical hygiene companies, including Ecolab.
The programme will also incorporate published standards of the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US.
As part of the programme, hosts will receive detailed cleaning guidelines that recommend the use of disinfectants approved by authorities and protective gear. Hosts are required to enforce a 24-hour buffer between guest stays.
All hosts will be encouraged to adhere with detailed guidelines on cleaning each room in their homes. Those who adhere to and perform the recommended level of cleaning will have their homes placed under a special collection on the Airbnb website.
Hosts who are not able to commit to the enhanced cleaning protocol can opt into a separate Booking Buffer feature, also backed by experts. This feature stipulates that homes must be kept empty for a buffer period between stays. Currently, the default buffer period is set at 72 hours.
Even under this separate label, hosts are urged to follow cleanliness guidelines from local governments and the CDC.
The initiative reflects the home-sharing company’s recognition that the future of travel will be tied very much to health, safety and prevention, said the company in a press statement on April 27.
Airbnb also hopes the cleanliness standards can provide reassurance to governments as they weigh whether to reopen their destinations to travellers.
Reservation trends have led the home-sharing giant to believe in the recovery of the home-sharing industry and travel as a whole. A recent Airbnb survey showed that 92 per cent of hosts wanted to host as often as before Covid-19, or more often, after the pandemic wanes.
As at late-March 2020, the number of bookings on the home-sharing platform with an arrival date of at least six months later were found to be higher compared to the same period last year, noted Airbnb.
The home-sharing giant also said that most guests have been satisfied with the cleanliness of the Airbnb homes they stayed in, and this cleaning initiative is a continuation of that. As of March 31, 94 per cent of reviews showed a cleanliness rating of four to five stars, said Airbnb.
