LANGKAWI: Sixty-eight hotels here stand to lose more than RM20mil a month following the government’s decision to cancel bookings for meetings, seminars and courses on the resort island, said Kuah assemblyman Datuk Nawawi Ahmad.
He said these hotels, which have four-star ratings and below, would stand to lose between RM300,000 and RM500,000 each.
“We hope the Government will not impose the cost-cutting measures on Langkawi and other resort islands such as Tioman and Pangkor which are heavily dependent on government programmes,” he said.
Nawawi said this in response to a Finance Ministry circular sent to hotels on June 6 informing them that bookings at all hotels had been cancelled, effective immediately.
“We appeal to the Government to review this decision as it has far-reaching implications on the livelihood of 70% of the population in Langkawi who are directly involved in the service sector.
“Some 10,000 people are working in the hotel sector and about 15,000 are in the retail business. The 700 taxi drivers will soon lose business.
“Car rental operators also risk going bust as most of the cars are still under finance,” he said, adding that there were more than 3,000 rental cars on the island.
Nawawi said that among the first to lose their jobs would be hotel workers as the hotels would be forced to retrench them.
“Even farmers and fishermen are dependent on the service sector as the bulk of their produce and catch are sold to hotels,” he said.
Nawawi appealed to the Government to consider the long-term socio-economic impact of its cost-cutting measures.
tunku : the federal government and also state government should promote Langkawi to the fullest.they can still improve on the promotions to bring more tourist to Langkawi.The state government should work hard on this matter rather than thinking of chopping trees (logging) at the water catchment area for their income. Langkawi has great potential and need more promotion to every corner of the world.we hope the state government will not take action in Langkawi that might shy away the tourist.
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2 comments:
Diversify!! the move by government to cut-cost is applaudable, inevitably these measure will affect certain sectors. But instead of hanging onto the old conventional ways, think outside the boz and diversify their source of income. This is a golden opportunity for the state government to step up and promote these beautiful places. Same reason with the fuel hike, where the subsidy must go, we need to think of different ways to improve the general situation, and not sacrifice our long-term growth to achieve short-term ends
Well, I think this gorgeous island should be promoted to the fullest and all tourists must be encouraged to spend time to discover the treasures of Nature...this is more than a lesson…it is an experience. That’s why there are hotel reservation agency portals who promote these beautiful places and where visitors can spend time exploring culture, tradition and hospitality at Langkawi Malaysia hotels.
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