KUCHING: Losses suffered by the country's tourism and culture industries in the first half of this year from the Covid-19 pandemic amount to around RM45 billion.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said tourism is one of the economic sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus, and is expected to be the last to recover.
"According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) for April 2020, employment volume has decreased by one per cent to 14.93 million people over the same period last year.
"Among the most affected workforce are those in the services sector, such as (hospitality), food and beverage, the arts, entertainment and recreation," she said at an engagement with industry players here, today.
Nancy said through Tourism Malaysia, her ministry will strengthen domestic tourism initiatives under the Cuti-Cuti Malaysia campaign and intensify public relations activities and online collaborations with corporations, key opinion leaders and influencers.
"We will also enhance the quality of tourism products and services by adapting to the new normal to boost the confidence of tourists to travel again, hence encouraging them to stay longer, visit more places and spend more.
"On this point, I would like to urge state and industry players from both the tourism and culture sectors to ensure that the services and products provided are of the highest quality, especially (with regard to) health safety, cleanliness and hygiene," she said.
To assist local tourism stakeholders, Nancy said a grant known as Galakan Melancong Malaysia (GAMELAN) will be extended, primarily for domestic promotion and marketing activities.
"The ministry has also introduced a Special Fund for Tourism or SFT that supports the development of small and medium tourism entrepreneurs by offering soft loans with a minimum of RM50,000 and a maximum of RM10 million, according to the potential of the proposed project.
"This fund is managed by SME Bank," she added. – BERNAMA