By Zareef Muzammil
SHAH ALAM, June 10 — Tourism industry operators in the state are given RM1 million financial assistance grant to revive the tourism sector which is badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, says state executive councillor for tourism Hee Loy Sian.
He said incentive in the form of reimbursable financial assistance is given to tourism operator who carries out promotional activities to attract and revitalise the sector.
“The amount can be claimed based on one entry or implementation, which is 50 per cent of the total actual expenditure or according to the maximum eligibility, whichever is lower,” he said in a statement today.
He said other initiatives to boost the tourism sector include:
1. Selangor tourism voucher 2.0
– 20,000 units of vouchers (RM50 per unit of voucher) are given with an allocation of RM1 million
-Distribution of vouchers through e-wallets and e-vouchers
2. Selangor tourism digitalisation learning and training programme
– Almost RM300,000 is allocated to organise the online digitalisation and business training programme
– A collaboration between Tourism Selangor with Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec)
3. One-off cash aid incentive to 16 tourism associations in Selangor
– Each association receives RM15,000 to implement tourism activities or programmes
Yesterday, Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari announced an allocation of RM2.55 million to help the tourism industry with its survival.
This assistance is part of the RM551.56 million allocated in the Kita Selangor 2.0 Package which will benefit some 1.6 million people in the state affected by the enforced full movement control order (MCO).
On November 19 last year, a total of 553 tourism industry players in the state comprising tour guides, homestay operators and community hosts received a one-off incentive totalling RM1,000 each.
The assistance is part of the Selangor Economic Recovery Package announced by Amirudin on July 13 last year.
On February 2 this year, Amirudini announced the implementation of the full entertainment duty exemption for theme parks’ entrance fees that begins from March 18 last year to the end of the year, involving an estimated financial impact of RM26.35 million.
He also stated that the entertainment tax rate is reduced from 25 per cent to 5 per cent over a duration of five years starting from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2026, with a total revenue impact of RM21.04 million a year.
