KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Tourism Federation (STF) hopes the state tourism stakeholders will receive a bigger share of funds from the state government next time around.
This is necessary to assist them to get back on their feet quicker and return stronger when the situation recovered, said STF president Tonny Chew.
"The tourism industry was one of the major contributors to the nation's economy before the Covid-19 pandemic, and will no doubt continue to serve such a role post-pandemic," said Chew in thanking Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor for rolling out the Bantuan Sabah Prihatin (BSP) 3.0, totalling RM154,835,981 on Thursday.
Of the total, the tourism industry will receive RM2,879,500. The funds would be distributed amongst tour guides, art practitioners, divemasters, mountain guides, porters, hotel and lodging operators as well as tour operators and homestay association involving 3,325 recipients.
"STF hopes the government will continue to help the tourism industry through other initiatives such as prioritising vaccination for hotel frontliners and others. We are yet to win the battle against this virus and it is becoming increasingly clear that a decisive victory will take time," said Chew.
He urges the government to speed up and streamline the vaccination process, so that the pandemic may be overcome as soon as possible.
"The mobile vaccination units that have been deployed recently, for example, is a welcome initiative that should be redoubled. Having said this, STF would also like to urge tourism stakeholders to cooperate, by encouraging their members and personnel to register for vaccination as soon as possible.
"This is a simple action that we as stakeholders can take to directly assist in the revival of our own industry," said Chew.
STF also appreciated state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister (KePKAS) Datuk Jafry Ariffin for highlighting the issues and hardship faced by the tourism industry to the state cabinet recently.
Earlier assistance from the state government under phases 1.0 and 2.0 of BPS is also much appreciated and this includes the Sabah New Deal RM20,000 grant.
STF also praised the assistance and efficiency of KePKAS team headed by permanent secretary Dr Jamili Nais who was assisted by Mary Malangking, as well as the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai and STB general manager Noredah Othman.
Since the unfolding of the pandemic, he said both teams have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to revive the tourism industry and provide much-needed aid to industry players.
For instance, he said before the announcement of BSP 3.0, STF's hotelier members have been looking forward to the next assistance such as a rebate on electricity bills and subsidies on hotel stays via the Boost campaign.
Both of which are already in the pipeline and are coordinated by the state government and the STB, he said.
He hoped that all tourism-related associations will unite under STF in the future to foster closer rapport with the government and work together for the betterment of the industry and the people.