The Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association (MyBHA) has the view that the 2023 budget will not have a long-term positive effect for the hotel industry in this country.
President of MyBHA), Dr. Sri Ganesh Michiel said the Malaysian government should introduce a budget that is more effective in solving existing industry challenges.
“The government should try to recover the losses in tax revenue due to failure on taking initial action against the threats to the hospitality industry. This is because there is no specific law to regulate every problem.
“We have outlined the things that should be emphasised in the hope of helping the hospitality industry survive and gradually recover in the coming years.
“The aspect of Short-Term Residential Accommodations (STRA) and all types of Online Travel Agencies (OTA) need to be focused in order to restore the capabilities of the hospitality industry,” he said in a media statement today.
Sri Ganesh Michiel also expressed disappointment when there was no change in efforts to raise the annual threshold value of Sales and Service Tax (SST) for the hospitality industry from RM500,000.00 to RM1,500,000.00.
According to him, budget hotels are an industry used by the B40 group. The government should introduce special tax incentives to encourage domestic tourists to travel within the country.
“The government also needs to extend the enforcement of Act 829 which serves as a special protection for operators in the hospitality and tourism industry.
“In 2023, the government has targeted the arrival of more than 15 million foreign tourists with an income value of 47.6 billion ringgit”, he said.
by Rosli Mansor
