Covid-19: MATTA hopes Malaysian tourism will recover by June 2021

A crowd of tourists in Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur before the coronavirus outbreak. - Filepic

The country’s tourism sector is expected to have a slow recovery on the last quarter of the year and should stabilise by June next year, said the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta).

Its president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said the Covid-19 pandemic had hit local tourism stakeholders hard.

"Slow recovery is expected on the last quarter of this year and we hope the industry will stabilise by June 2021," he told StarLifestyle.

"Travel has become an integral part of our lifestyle the last couple of years, but this outbreak has put a brake on it since January this year, ” he added

Tan urges Malaysians to help the local travel sector recover by doing domestic holidays, once it is safe to do so.

“Our hospitality and leisure industry employs directly 1.3 million workers and with economic spin-offs.

"We need to be united to rebuild the industry and hence all Malaysians should consider supporting travel domestically for a start, ” he said.

Tan said the local tourism industry is a mature sector with some well-developed tourism destinations.

He added that a vacation close to home after the pandemic can provide travellers with more peace of mind.

"After the pandemic is over it recommended to travel closer to home. It is much easier for government or industry to do emergency evacuation within the country if similar pandemic occurs again.

"It also helps local airlines, licensed travel agents and hotels in terms of cash flows this will help them to revive their operation and sustainability, ” he said.

-thestar online.