The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Iraq war were the twin issues that wreaked havoc in world travel and tourism. The Malaysian tourism industry was particulary hard hit in the 2nd quarter. StarBIz spoke to a panel of five, comprising representatives from the government and private sector, to review the damage and lessons to be learnt. The panellists were the director-general of the Malaysia Toursim Promotion Board Datuk Abdullah Jonid, Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Tunku Datuk Seri Iskandar, Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners (MAHO) president Tan Boon Lee, Malaysia Retailers Association deputy president Rashid Adam and Malaysian Food and Beverage Executives Association president Samsarujee Omar. StarBiz was represented by general manager (advertising and business development) Datuk Linda Ngiam, senior editor (corporate) David Chow and deputy news editor (business) Hafidz Mahpar. The first part of discussions appears below.
STAR: To what extent has your sector suffered from the twin evils of the war in Iraq and the outbreak of SARS recently?
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
