The Star: Tax rebate for domestic travel among incentives proposed to bolster industry

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PETALING JAYA: Tax incentives for locals to travel domestically should be introduced in the revised Budget 2023, says the Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association.

Its president Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel said the move would both drive and boost the local tourism and hotel industry.

He suggested the government introduce a rebate of RM3,000 for locals to travel domestically.

"This will be a good amount to start with and it will re-stimulate not only local tourism but also the hotel industry.

"We need to find a win-win solution in order to ensure sustainability for all parties," he said, when contacted.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will table the revised Budget 2023 in Dewan Rakyat on Feb 24.

According to Parliament's official portal, the first meeting of the second session of the 15th Parliament will run from Feb 13 until March 30, 2023.

Previously, the government had targeted more than 15 million foreign tourists arrivals this year with a projected income value of RM47bil.

Sri Ganesh also urged the government to raise the annual threshold value of the Sales and Service Tax (SST) for the hotel industry from RM500,000 to RM1.5mil in the Budget.

"If the government can increase the SST threshold for eateries and restaurants from RM500,000 to RM1.5mil, there is no excuse that it cannot be given to our industry," he said.

He also urged the government to improve the mechanism to collect tourism tax and to avoid any leakages especially for online bookings.

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) president Uzaidi Udanis said the government needs to allocate more funds to promote Malaysia at the international level.

"It is costly for local players to do promotions and they need to attend a lot of international conferences.

"Perhaps the government can look at providing special matching grants for this purpose.

"We need to make sure we are able to put Malaysia on the world map again after the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.

He also urged the government to do away with redundant regulations and red tape that can discourage local players from being active in the industry.

"I believe that there needs to be a clear guideline and enforcement at all levels to ensure that we are able to attract quality tourists, especially in terms of safety at popular tourist sites," he said.

He also hoped the government could help rural folk promote marketable tourism products such as durian farms and eco-tourism.

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