KUALA LUMPUR (June 1): The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) has urged the government to fast-track vaccination of tourism workers and called for more financial support to help the industry to keep afloat during the current trying times.

In a statement today, MATTA president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said the association had written to Coordinating Minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin to fast-track the vaccination programme roll-out for workers in the tourism industry.

"This move is critical if we are to reinforce the nation's reputation as one of the foremost tourism destinations in Southeast Asia.

"As can be seen in several other countries, the success of their vaccination programmes has resulted in these countries being able to open their borders to international travel,” he said.

In addition, MATTA also called on the government to provide financial aid, and asked for further extension of the loan moratorium and Wage Subsidy Programme to ease the burden of its members.

"We would like to appeal to the government to approve further assistance to travel agencies with a grant of RM10,000 each to help them to cover fixed costs and overhead costs — travel agencies in particular have been one of the hardest-hit businesses, many of which are trying desperately to stay afloat by turning to alternative businesses which do little to improve the situation for the companies and their more than 47,000 direct employees.

"That being said, the extension of the moratorium and Wage Subsidy Programme should be extended until Dec 31, 2021. This extension should also apply to the contribution to the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF). The exemption for late payment and renewal of licence with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) and deferment of penalty for payment of outstanding tax payment to LHDN (the Inland Revenue Board) are other practical moves that will help companies during this period," said Tan.

Overall, MATTA welcomed many of the initiatives outlined in PEMERKASA+ that the association hopes will help tourism players, in particular travel agents, to stay afloat during this crisis.

Tan said foremost among these is the push for the roll-out of the vaccination programme for the rakyat, which will help pave the way to a quicker reopening of borders and thereby the revival of tourism and all its related economic sub-sectors.

Another announcement of particular significance is the rehabilitation programme for buses, a move that MATTA has been calling on the government to make since the early stages of the pandemic.

A survey of 3,000 MATTA member companies alone indicated that it was looking at close to, if not more than, 9,000 vehicles classified as "bas persiaran".  

"We are thankful that the government has taken the bold decision to intervene on behalf of bus owners as the previous moratorium did not apply to leasing companies.

"MATTA estimates that its members alone own more than 9,000 vehicles classified as bas persiaran, many of which were purchased from credit and leasing companies — to put into context, a 40- seater tour bus costs RM490,000 to RM580,000 — the debt which is impossible to service given these trying times have the potential of crippling the tourism ecosystem if not dealt with swiftly and decisively," he added.