Dato Peter Minos
KUCHING: Bung Bratak Heritage Association chairman Dato Peter Minos said the state’s tourism industry needs help in many aspects, and can do without any new tax imposed on it.
He said Sarawak has put a lot of hope and expectation into its ‘young but promising’ tourism industry, and has tried its level-best over the past 10 years getting the various parts and components, including tourism sites and attractions, in place.
“Sarawak therefore does not need anything, including any extra tax, to spoil the show,” he added when met yesterday.
Minos was referring to the reaction of Sarawakian tourism players on the impending implementation of the controversial tourism tax in August.
“Just take one example – it is not easy to fill our hotels of any grade at any time and investors take big risks in building hotels and maintaining them.
If they are burdened by additional tax, things will surely get worse and this will aggravate situation in the tourism industry.
“We can therefore understand why Sarawak leaders are not at all enthusiastic on the proposed tourism tax, and also why there are calls for its implementation to be reviewed and delayed.”
Minos said tourism promotion is needed in foreign markets but if the hotels – a key tourism component – are facing problems and air connectivity is ‘not quite there yet’ for Sarawak, then whatever efforts that are being done will be for nought.
“The basics must be in place first before we can seriously think of aggressive promotion. House-sorting must come first before the promotion. That seems to be the proper logic.
“We hope that if the tourism tax cannot be taken off, then the tax collected (has to) be shared equally by the three regions – Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. (If) such tax is used by KL (federal) officials (for things) other than true promotion, then this is not what Sarawak wants.”