JOHOR BARU: The state government today announced several incentives to help the tourism industry players weather the challenges faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
State Tourism, Youth and Sports committee chairman Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the state government acknowledged the badly-hit sector which saw a decrease in the number of local and foreign tourist arrivals, resulting in cancellations of hotel bookings and tourism packages.
"Industry players and those in the supporting industries are facing difficulties especially in maintaining their cash flow while those working as freelancers have lost their income due to event cancellations," he said in a statement.
Onn Hafiz said the state government had agreed to make a one off payment of RM1,000 to 936 licensed tour guides residing in Johor, involving an allocation of RM936,000.
"The state government will also waive the business licence payment of tourism business and hotel owners for this year, totalling RM894,211 which will benefit 1,031 licence holders.
"We will also waive the entertainment duty for theme parks and family entertainment centres for this year totalling about RM3 million," he added.
Onn Hafiz said the state government was also in the process of formulating short and long term strategies to revive and improve the competitiveness of the tourism industry in Johor post Covid-19.
"It is hoped that these incentives will help the industry players in this challenging times," he said.