Liaw
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will potentially lose at least RM100 million in tourism receipt per month as the Chinese government has banned its citizens from booking overseas tours amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, said Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Satta) president Datuk Seri Winston Liaw.
If the virus persisted for six months, that would amount to a staggering RM600 million loss in tourism receipts for Sabah, he said.
Liaw said the coronavirus had far-reaching implications on the inbound tourism sector of the State because the Chinese government had not only imposed a lockdown in Wuhan, but also banned its citizens in other cities such as Beijing, Tianjing and Guangzhou from travelling abroad.
“All flights to Kota Kinabalu from the aforementioned Chinese cities have been suspended.”
He said hotels in Kota Kinabalu had been fully booked during the Chinese New Year till mid-February.
“But since the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, hotels have been getting booking cancellations.”
Additionally, he said tourism-related sectors such as tour buses, restaurants, airlines and tour operators were badly hit as Chinese tourists stopped coming to Sabah.
Under such circumstances, he said these businesses had to refund all the previous payments made to the tourists.
Liaw said local tourism players would not have ‘hurt’ that much if tourists who had paid for their tours during the virus outbreak opted to defer their visit to Sabah instead.
According to statistics from the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu and Sabah Tourism Board (STB), Sabah has recorded 600,000 tourist arrivals from China last year, averaging 50,000 per month.
“With an estimated RM2,000 spending per visit for Chinese tourists, Sabah will potentially lose RM100 million in tourism receipts each month.”
Meanwhile, he said outbound tours to China, particularly those set to depart in February and March this year, had also been cancelled.
Liaw, who is also the chairman of Airworld Travel and Tours, said he had cancelled at least seven tours headed for China and estimated the figure to be around 80 tours for all the travel agencies operating in Sabah.
Although Sabah has yet to report any cases of the deadly virus, he urged the people to take the necessary precautions.
He also hoped that the government would assist tourism players during this challenging period, such as imposing a six-month moratorium on bank loans.
Hotels have been receiving cancellations since January 20 as the Chinese government has issued a ban on its citizens from booking overseas tours, flights and hotels amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Sabah and Labuan chapter chairman Gordon Seet said hotels had previously expected full occupancy in the first two months of this year.
“We have been getting cancellations since January 20 up till February.
“Some hotels have lost up to 50 per cent of the bookings.”
He added that the coronavirus did not only affect leisure travellers, but also business travellers as well.
Seet said hotels received the highest cancellations from China tourists, as they made up a large percentage of the tourist arrivals to Kota Kinabalu.
In lieu of this issue, he said most hotels offered lenient cancellation policies, including deferring booking deposits for future stays, or waiving cancellation fees, particularly for group tours from China.
On another note, Seet said hotels were providing face masks and hand sanitizers to their employees as precautionary measures.
“Guests are also provided with face masks upon request.
“Almost all hotels are also ensuring their rooms and guest contact areas are sanitized with proper disinfectant.”
Additionally, he said staff who were sick would be given medical attention and monitored closely to ensure their well-being.
“We hope that the virus will be contained and vaccine to be discovered soon so that people will have the confidence to travel again.”
MAH Sabah and Labuan chapter represents close to 100 member hotels.