JOHOR HOTELIERS,THEME PARK OPERATORS SEE SUNNY OUTLOOK GOING FORWARD

By Nor Baizura Basri

JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 17 -- The hotel industry in Johor expects business to get a whole lot better in the coming months as hotel operators have been getting a lot of enquiries for reservations with the lifting of the interstate travel ban on Monday.

A few hotel operators have even prepared special packages and offers to welcome guests after a sharp drop in business since the movement control order (MCO) was implemented on March 18, 2020.

Their business had suffered from the closing of the Malaysia-Singapore border in 2020 as well as a ban on the interstate and inter-district travel starting May this year, resulting in several hotels, from three to five-star ranked hotels, closing down for good.

Most of these operators are now more optimistic with the lifting of the interstate travel ban but they are moving forward cautiously and making sure all the relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs) are adhered to while doing business in the new normal.

Desaru Development Holdings One Sdn Bhd managing director and chief executive officer Roslina Arbak said all its world-class resorts have adhered to global health and safety standards at each property.

The hotel operator has also ensured that almost 100 per cent of all its employees and service providers are fully vaccinated, conducting rotational testing of 25 per cent of its workforce and contract workers each week as an added precautionary measure.

“With our Adventure Waterpark opening on Oct 14 to the public, we have been running opening protocols in stages to ensure all health and safety protocols and social distancing are well placed, getting staff readapted to managing and running the park and ensuring the general operations of the park is running well,” she told Bernama when contacted here.

She said the company, which is the master developer and operator of Desaru Coast Destination Resort, has seen an increase in interest and bookings mainly due to its attractive offerings and flexible booking conditions that accommodate cancellations and extended validity periods.

“We are encouraged by the healthy interest in domestic travel. We now look forward to the federal and state government working towards allowing reciprocal international tourists arrivals from an approved list of ‘safe’ countries soon. This will certainly help to rebuild Malaysia’s tourism industry and more importantly, the economy,” she added.

Roslina said tourism, in general, would see a spike due to pent-up demand in the near term and they would likely see some stabilisation post-Chinese New Year celebrations in 2022.

She applauded both the federal and state governments, on the nationwide vaccination efforts which have made way for the easing of restrictions and the opening of interstate travel.

Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel general manager Gagan Sigh said things are headed in the right direction with the hotel receiving a lot of enquiries through online and telephone reservations. 

“With the travel ban previously, things were not looking so great. As for us now, the outlook looks good. We just have to make sure everyone follows SOPs and we are also being careful while building up through this opportunity,” he said.

Gagan said the volume in terms of bookings has increased as well as enquiries, particularly business travellers and visitors from other states to Johor for leisure, but still nowhere at the sold-out level for the next few weeks.

“With the travel ban being removed, we hope to recover close to 60 per cent of our business. Instead of 60 per cent, our drop in business should be 40 per cent. And then, as the international travellers come back, I guess we would get back to the old levels, how we used to be in pre-COVID times. So, I feel we are still not out of the woods just yet,” he said.

“We are heading in the right direction but we are still far away from the golden phase we had before mainly because of international travellers,” said Gagan, adding that 60 to 65 per cent of the hotel businesses was contributed by locals while the remainder is from international visitors.

The marketing and communications manager of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Johor Bahru Keyin Tay said with the latest Covid relaxations, the hotel definitely sees a ray of light for the rebound of hospitality in Johor.

“Not only that, we are seeing efforts of the Johor state government to (allow travel) between Johor and Singapore, and that will be something that we are looking forward to in the next few months,” she added.

As the hotel is scheduled to open by end of this year, she said the hotel sees a very positive sign to open within the timeline schedule.

“With the fast progress (being made) in the recovery phases, we are definitely seeing a surge in travel booking demands ahead due to the ‘revenge travel’ phenomenon. And the news of this phase comes right on time, which is the hottest travel months of the year, the end of the year break.

“It definitely brings a big smile to most hoteliers this time round,” she added.

-- BERNAMA