KUALA LUMPUR: Airbnb has called on the government to establish clear and fair National Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) Guidelines as part of several policy recommendations ahead of the tabling of Budget 2027 on Oct 9.
Airbnb Southeast Asia head of Public Policy Shanta Arul said the guidelines should set national standards that small businesses and individual hosts can easily follow, while enabling local authorities to implement them effectively.
She said Airbnb also suggested recognising the potential of home sharing to empower communities through tourism, particularly women, youth and micro entrepreneurs, including by expanding existing grant and financing programmes.
"The existing grant and financing programmes, such as the Malaysia Travel Incentive Grant (Gamelan) and Tekun Nasional (National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund), can be expanded to support digital literacy, safety and compliance readiness, sustainable hosting and entrepreneurship,” she said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 29).
Airbnb also proposed strengthening domestic tourism by encouraging visits to secondary cities, heritage districts and rural destinations through more targeted destination marketing, digital discoverability and public-private partnerships.
The proposal takes into account the 290.1 million domestic visitors recorded in 2025, while domestic tourism expenditure rose 13.6 per cent to RM121.3bil, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Shanta said home sharing also helped meet accommodation needs for tourism, large-scale events and medical purposes, while creating opportunities for additional income for the people.
She said Airbnb previously supported the 2026 Selangor Malaysia Games (Sukma) and Para Sukma by providing accommodation for athletes, their families and officials, and collaborated with the National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM) to provide accommodation for eligible patients and caregivers.
Airbnb also called for a fair and practical review of the Tourism Industry Act (TIA) 1992 to create a level playing field, promote innovation and strengthen consumer protection.
Shanta said a forward-looking regulatory framework would enhance industry competitiveness and reinforce Malaysia's position as a leading tourism destination.
She added that an economic impact analysis using IMPLAN showed that Airbnb-related activities contributed about RM8.3bil to Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2025, supported about 108,300 jobs nationwide and generated nearly RM3.0bil in labour income.
Airbnb, she said, is ready to cooperate with the government, Tourism Malaysia and local authorities to spotlight lesser-known destinations, build community capacity and support sustainable tourism development.- Bernama
