A group of tourism associations in Malaysia have come together to urge the government to extend the loan moratorium for the travel and tour industry ending September 30 by another six months.
The call comes from the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) together with the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association, Bumiputera Travel and Tour Agents Association of Malaysia, Malaysia Chinese Tourism Association, Malaysian Indian Tour & Travel Association (MITTA), Malaysia Inbound Chinese Association and Tour Bus Operators Association of Peninsular Malaysia.
Speaking on behalf of the associations, MATTA president, Tan Kok Liang, said: “To date, travel agents and tour operators have hardly had any business. Hence, without any income, how are they expected to service the loans of their vehicles and businesses?”
He added that travel agents and tour operators have not been able to benefit from the flourishing domestic tourism market, as domestic travellers opt to book directly with hotels to save on third-party fees. Also, travellers are choosing to do self-drive instead of hiring vehicles owned by travel agencies or tour operators.
“Due to the fact that everyone in the tourism industry is hungry for business, not only the hotels have gone directly to the consumers; airlines and attraction operators too have joined the fray. They, too, have offered packages and ignored the fact that license imposed by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is required,” he said.
“Likewise, outbound tour operators and travel agencies are equally hard hit with hundreds of millions tied up in airline and hotel bookings that they have made on behalf of their clients.”
Tan highlighted that several tourism companies have appealed for the extension on the loan moratorium with the banks, but to no avail as the loan moratorium extension is only accessible to individuals, not companies.
Banks are only providing a rescheduling procedure to support businesses and impose a certain interest rate, depending on the situation, he said.
Rescheduling of the loan repayment is not a viable option for many tourism companies, he added, as their businesses have been running at zero income over the past six months, with the situation likely to persist in the next several months.
He also noted the recent travel advisory on entry restrictions where citizens from 23 countries have been barred from entering the country, including those from major inbound markets to Malaysia such as India, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia and the UK.
In light of this, the hope for travel bubbles with some of these countries to boost the restart of tourism has now been dashed, Tan said, adding that “the industry can expect a further prolongation of the situation and will not be surprised that recovery can only happen in the second quarter of 2021”.
He said: “The government needs to assist us urgently by extending the loan moratorium for at least another six months due to the dire situation as mentioned above. Failing which, (it) will lead to a situation where most of us will be forced to shut down our businesses or may end up in bankruptcy. This situation will add on to the unemployment and retrenchment of the tourism workforce.”
Stressing that the tourism industry is now “in a grievous state” and “in dire need of all the help we can get”, Tan urged the government “to exercise its moral responsibility and reassess the situation in assisting and providing further extension on the loan moratorium for the tourism industry, particularly the travel and tour sector”.
Singapore-based travel startup Tastech has launched an online booking platform called Atastay featuring a curated collection of luxury hotels across South-east Asia.
Most of the hotels listed on the website have been visited and verified by local senior travel specialists to match luxury travellers with the most unique and localised hotel experiences, according to a press statement.
“There are too many five-star hotels on other online booking platforms. Users who are still looking to plan special holidays such as a honeymoon or that annual family vacation may need to spend quite some time on research (including reading up on numerous hotel reviews) to find the right destination and accommodation,” said Takaya Tomose, founder and CEO of Tastech.
“Atastay carefully curates and conducts these stressful and mundane researches to guarantee that your stay will be special. In fact, during our many site visits in preparation for the launch of Atastay, we have discovered so many unique boutique and well-operated family-friendly hotels in Singapore facing visibly less human traffic during this (Covid) period, and we find it a pity.”
On Tastech’s decision to launch a luxury hotel booking site amid these challenging times, its sales and marketing manager Traven Koo told TTG Asia that the team saw a silver lining of opportunity as the pandemic triggered greater demand for luxury products like private chartered planes and high-end accommodation.
Atastay is a combination of the words ‘atas’, a local slang which means high-class, and ‘stay’. All properties on the platform come with an “Atastay Rating”, which grades hotels on a five-point scale, based on cleanliness, location, service, rooms and facilities. Hotel facilities, in-room amenities, room types, F&B options as well as services are also listed under each property.
Koo said that besides the aforementioned selection criteria, featured hotels have been selected for the uniqueness of the stay experience, such as the hotel layout, quality of room finishing, and views from the room. Atastay’s catalogue will be expanded gradually, and the company will continually refine these selections based on customer feedback and its local surveillance, he added.
Another main feature of Atastay is its rewards programme called Atas Points, where registered users earn points that can be converted into cash rebates to offset future purchases. Koo said that an affiliate programme is also in the pipeline where members will enjoy a wide array of benefits at participating restaurants and brands. As well, Atastay members can unlock monthly exclusive offers which could range from dining experiences and deals on luxury goods to prize draws.
More information is available on www.atastay.com. The site is also available in different languages for Vietnamese, Indonesian and Thailand travellers.