 |
[email protected] |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
The Covid-19 Pandemic and Its Repercussions on the Malaysian Tourism Industry
Noriah Ramli, Majdah Zawawi
Full-Text PDF
XML 541 Views
DOI:10.17265/2328-2169/2021.03.001
International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Gombak, Malaysia
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has hit the nation’s tourism sector hard. With the closure of borders, industry players should now realize that they cannot rely and focus too much on international receipts but should also give equal balance attention to local tourist and tourism products. Hence, urgent steps must be taken by the government to reduce the impact of this outbreak on the country’s economy, by introducing measures to boost domestic tourism and to satisfy the cravings of the tourism needs of the population. It is not an understatement that Malaysians often look for tourists’ destinations outside Malaysia for fun and adventure, ignoring the fact that Malaysia has a lot to offer to tourist in terms of sun, sea, culture, heritage, gastronomy, and adventure. National geography programs like “Tribal Chef” demonstrate how “experiential tourism” resonates with the young and adventurous, international and Malaysian alike. The main purpose of this paper is to give an insight about the effect of Covid-19 pandemic to the tourism and hospitality services industry in Malaysia. What is the immediate impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Malaysia’s tourism industry? What are the initiatives (stimulus package) taken by the Malaysian government in order to ensure tourism sustainability during Covid-19 pandemic? How to boost tourist confidence? How to revive Malaysia’s tourism industry? How local government agencies can help in promoting and coordinating domestic tourism? These are some of the questions which a response is provided in the paper. Due to the current Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in Malaysia which started from 18th March 2020 to the time this paper is written, the methodology is largely reliant on daily news and information including national Malaysia news and daily updates in local newspaper. The paper also makes some recommendations which have implications for practitioners and policy makers.
tourism, Covid-19, government initiative, tourist confidence, local government, domestic tourism
Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, May-June 2021, Vol. 9, No. 3, 135-145 doi: 10.17265/2328-2169/2021.03.001
Adi, N. R., Utama, M. S., Sri Budhi, M. K., & Purbadharmaja, I. B. P. (2017). The role of government in community based tourism and sustainable tourism development at Penglipuran Traditional Village—Bali. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 22(6), 15-20.
Ahmad, S. (2020). Domestic travel post Covid-19 to help tourism sector recover. Retrieved July 10, 2020 from https://www.matta.org.my/news/63735-domestic-travel-post-covid-19-to-help-tourism-sector-recover
Braz, J. (2016). 7 powerful reasons to travel like a local. Retrieved November 5, 2020 from https://www.likealocalguide.com/blog/7-powerful-reasons-to-travel-like-a-local/
Cameron, A. M., Memon, A., Simmons, D. G., & Fairweather, J. R. (2001). Evolving role of local government in promoting sustainable tourism development on the west coast. Tourism Recreation Research and Education Centre (TRREC) report No. 28, Lincoln University. Tourism Recreation Research and Education Centre (TRREC), Report No. 28, Lincoln University. ISSN:1175-5385
Caswell, M. (2020). Accor to launch cleaning standards certification “label” post-coronavirus lockdown. Retrieved June 20, 2020 from https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2020/04/17/accor-to-launch-cleaning-standards-certification-post-coronavirus-lockdown/
Charlie. (2016). Local travel—how to support local communities when travelling. Retrieved August 10, 2020 from https://bkpk.me/local-travel-how-to-support-local-communities-when-travelling/
Donny, S., & Mohd Nor, N. A. (2012). Community-Based Tourism (CBT): Local community perceptions toward social and cultural impacts. Presented at 1st Tourism and Hospitality International Conference. De Palma Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Dunn. (2007). A study such as Community-Based Tourism (CBT) improves the rural economies. In Community-Based Tourism (CBT): Local community perceptions toward social and cultural impacts. Retrieved May 19, 2020 from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275953671_Community-based_Tourism_CBT_Local_Community_Perceptions_toward_Social_and_Cultural_Impacts
Hamid, R. (2020). Singapore is launching a new audit system to certify that its hotels are clean and safe to ease post-coronavirus travel fears. Retrieved February 15, 2021 from https://www.businessinsider.com/singapore-new-clean-hotel-audit-initiative-coronavirus-2020-4
HirschmannNumber of people employed in the tourism industry in Malaysia from 2011 to 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2021 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/954719/employment-tourism-industries-malaysia/
Hirschmann, R. Number of hotels in Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2021 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1004729/number-of-hotels-malaysia/
Inus, K. (2020). Tourism industry has suffered RM3bil loss due to Covid-19. Retrieved July 12, 2020 from https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/02/12/tourism-industry-has-suffered-rm3bil-loss-due-to-covid-19
Kaur, S. (2020). Hotels in KL partially closed for business. Retrieved April 15, 2021 from https://www.nst.com.my/property/2020/03/579988/hotels-kl-partially-closed-business
Liang, T. K. (2020). Health certification initiatives to revive tourism industry, says MATTA. Retrieved June 20, 2020 from https://www.matta.org.my/press-release/06819-health-certification-initiatives-to-revive-tourism-industry-says-matta
Lim, I. (2020). Stimulus: Malaysians to get RM1,000 tax relief, RM100 digital vouchers for domestic tourism. Retrieved December 3, 2020 from https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/02/27/2020-stimulus-malaysians-to-get-rm1000-tax-relief-rm100-digital-vouchers-fo/1841537
Local Authorities Ireland. (2017). Role of local government in tourism, local authorities Ireland tourism policy. Retrieved January 13, 2021 from https://www.lgma.ie/en/news/role-of-local-government-in-tourism.pdf
Mohsin, A., Ramli, N., & Alkhulayfi, B. A. (2015). Halal tourism: Emerging opportunities. Tourism Management Perspectives, 19(2016), 137-143.
Mohamad, M., Interim Prime Minister. (2020). 2020 Economic Stimulus Package-full speech text (in English). Retrieved March 10, 2020 from https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/02/569732/2020-economic-stimulus-package-full-speech-text-english
Muhyiddin. (2020). Tourism industry hit hardest by Covid-19, faces RM3.37b loss. Retrieved April 15, 2020 from https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/03/13/muhyiddin-tourism-industry-hit-hard-by-covid-19-to-lose-rm3.37b-while-gdp-s/1846323
Murallitharan, M. (2020). Deep impact of Covid-19. Retrieved November 2, 2020 from https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2020/03/14/deep-impact-of-covid-19/
Mybackyardtour.com. (2019). What is Community Based Tourism (CBT). Retrieved January 20, 2021 from http://mybackyardtour.com/what-is-community-based-tourism-cbt/
Petcu, O. (2020). Instead of “stars” Singapore may also rank hotels based on how clean and safe its hotels are. Retrieved April 16, 2021 from https://cpp-luxury.com/instead-of-stars-singapore-may-also-rank-hotels-based-on-how-clean-and-safe-its-hotels-are/
Shankar, A. C. (2019). Tourists spent RM41.69b in Malaysia in the first half of 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2020 from https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/tourist-spending-malaysia-grew-68-first-half-2019
Shukri, S. H. N., Minister Tourism, Arts and Culture, Minister Office Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia. (2020). Cancellation of Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020) campaign and guest stay at tourist accommodation premises throughout the Movement Control Order (MCO). Retrieved April 12, 2020 from https://www.tourism.gov.my/media/view/cancellation-of-visit-malaysia-2020-vm2020-campaign-and-guest-stay-at-tourist-accommodation-premises-throughout-the-movement-control-order-mco
The Star. (2020). Visit Malaysia 2020 cancelled over virus impact. Retrieved May 10, 2020 from https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/03/19/visit-malaysia-2020-cancelled-over-virus-impact
Yunus, R. (2020). Tourism Malaysia looks at new markets to ease Covid-19 impacts. Retrieved August 14, 2020 from https://themalaysianreserve.com/2020/03/10/tourism-malaysia-looks-at-new-markets-to-ease-covid-19-impacts/