The Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association (MyBHA) is alarmed by the increasing incidents as a result of the sale of apartments and residential houses providing accommodation and running a business such as a hotel without any business license nor regulation by any laws which has given a bad image for the tourism industry.
“We refer to the unwanted news on social media sites and/or online portals where tourists from Singapore have complained as well as recounted their bitter experiences that have given a bad and flawed image of the tourism and accommodation industry that they have experienced themselves.
“We would like to emphasize that the matter has occurred in a residential unit that has been booked online and is not happening in any legal and licensed hotels.
“We are of the opinion that such issues should not happen and it will give a bad impression towards the hotel Industry in particular and the tourism industry in general as well will affect tourists who want to travel to Malaysia”, said the national president of the Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association (MyBHA), Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel in a press statement.
He also added that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) has worked hard to revive and recover the Hotel and Tourism Industry and we call on all parties including relevant agencies and ministries to take the initiative and work together in carrying out their respective duties towards realizing the revitalization of the hotel and tourism Industry.
“As such, we describe this as a form of “technology colonization” of the hotel industry and request the Malaysian government to immediately enact an Act to regulate all types of online travel agencies (OTA’s) and immediately enforce the short-term residential accommodation (STRA) guidelines which has been delayed for a long time to ensure that the above situations and issues can be controlled, addressed as well as appropriate action could be taken to ensure that the hotel and tourism industry is preserved and not polluted by any party who are not licensed or are not in the legitimate accommodation industry.
“Meanwhile, the Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association (MyBHA) has entered into a strategic partnership with Tourism Malaysia to stimulate the recovery of the tourism industry thus contributing to the country’s overall economic recovery.
“Therefore, members of MyBHA have offered e-vouchers worth RM50 with a minimum purchase value of RM60 for 7,960 buyers. All e-vouchers can be obtained on the Shopee application and we call on all Malaysians to immediately enjoy the initiatives offered by the Government and not to waste this opportunity”, said Ganesh in the press statement.