Kuala Lumpur 21 September 2021: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) is urging the incumbent Minister of Finance to be upfront in his efforts to help tourism businesses which are currently in extreme financial distress.

"The Malaysian tourism industry is on the brink of total collapse and the Ministry of Finance needs to be specific in its allocation to not only preserve tourism business and workers but to prepare and empower the industry for a major comeback," said MATTA President Datuk Tan Kok Liang.

In 2019, Malaysia received 26 million foreign tourists with a revenue of RM 89.1 billion, exceeding the exports of palm oil at RM 70 billion and rubber gloves at RM 22 billion.

"Don’t ignore the industry now just because borders remain closed and because there is not much tourism activity. Our companies are in bad shape due to regulatory constraints imposed by the government while other countries are recovering at a faster rate in their battle against Covid," he added

Full text of the article is available on our website, link as following: https://www.matta.org.my/press-release/14479-on-the-verge-of-collapse-matta-seeks-direct-financial-support-for-the-tourism-industry-in-the-national-budget-2022