Thursday 28 Mar 2024
By
main news image

This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 8, 2019 - July 14, 2019

Airbnb has proposed a regulatory and tax framework for short-term accommodation in Malaysia. The plan aims to inform the ongoing work of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Malaysia Productivity Corporation to help grow the country’s tourism industry and address local challenges.

The proposed framework will include a clear and consistent national framework of regulation, a simple and online-friendly registration system, a fair and broad-based tourism tax as well as a new code of conduct, Mich Goh, head of public policy for Southeast Asia at Airbnb, tells City & Country in an email.

“This [proposed framework] will help to expand the Malaysian tourism industry and address local needs,” says Goh.

Airbnb Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan general manager Mike Orgill said at a media briefing on July 2 that the company intends to expand its transport business.

“However, this idea is still at the beginning stage,” he continued. “The final aspect that we have not worked out is the transport needs. We hope to discuss this element with several transport carriers.”

According to Orgill, Airbnb’s latest survey reveals that the host and guest community in Malaysia generated about RM3 billion in direct economic impact last year. This sum refers to its homes’ host earnings and estimated guest spending. Host earnings are based on Airbnb’s internal data while the estimated guest spending is based on about 12,000 responses to a voluntary survey sent to a sample of guest accounts of those who travelled to a certain country last year, Airbnb said in a press statement.

The company welcomed over 3.25 million guests in Malaysia from July 1 last year to July 1 this year, an increase of 73% year on year.

Malaysia continues to be Airbnb’s fastest-growing country in Southeast Asia for the second year running, with more than 53,000 listings.

A fast-growing demographic in the country is senior hosts, who are aged 60 and above. They earned almost RM9 million from hosting about 50,000 guests on Airbnb last year — an increase of 84% year on year.

Orgill said one of the challenges that Airbnb is facing is growing unique quality inventory.

“What we are looking for is the different types of accommodation in Malaysia. The idea is to implement caravans in Sabah and ‘rumah panjang’ or longhouse in Sarawak on Airbnb for tourists to experience the authentic Malaysian culture,” he said, adding that he believes this is one of the growth areas in the country.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share