THE Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) is delighted with the RM20bil economic stimulus package announced by then interim Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad last Friday, which will help mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, which has severely affected the tourism industry.
The comprehensive package covers many sectors and includes requests made by MATTA and key stakeholders for the tourism industry, such as discounts for electricity bills; lowering the minimum contribution to the Employees Provident Fund; exemption from the Human Resource Development Fund levy; banks to provide financial relief with payment moratoriums comprising restructuring and rescheduling loans across the board; special loans for small and medium enterprises for working capital; property owners to lower rental rates; matching grants for tourism personnel training; subsidies to enhance digital skills and marketing; personal income tax relief of up to RM1,000 on expenditure related to domestic tourism (although MATTA had asked for RM2,000).
