Budget 2023's provision for the tourism industry is unimpressive because the amount is not enough to support business owners who are still recuperating from the pandemic's consequences.

Tourism received RM250 million from the revised Budget 2023, which Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim unveiled yesterday.

Tan Kok Liang, head of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta), claimed that the monies were insufficient in light of the government's promotion of Malaysia as a top vacation destination.

When compared to the current currency rate of RM4.43, the funding for Visit Malaysia 2014 was RM358 million when the exchange rate was RM3.3 to US$1.

In a statement, he stated, "What this simply implies is that costs have increased dramatically and a larger budget is needed."

"Bridging the gap between today and 2025 is also essential. We anticipate that further stimuli will be added along the road to support tourist operations and enable industry participants to successfully contribute to the achievement of our country's tourism goals.

2025 would be designated as "Visit Malaysia Year," according to Anwar, who is also the finance minister, with a target of 23.5 million foreign visitors and a projected income of RM76.8 billion.

The head of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), Christina Toh, expressed gratitude for the funding but claimed that it was not strategic in tackling the problems currently affecting the tourism sector.

"We hope the government would take a broader perspective, given the tourism sector used to be one of Malaysia's top three revenue-generating sectors.

From fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) to transportation and logistics, "we are a lengthy supply chain that supports the economy of Malaysia," Toh told FMT.

According to her, if the budget had been more supportive of the tourism sector, it would have had a stronger positive spillover effect on ancillary industries.

Toh added that she hoped the government would take into account creating tax breaks for hotel renovations and refurbishments because many participants in the sector needed money following a two-year closure.

Sri Ganesh Michiel, head of the Malaysian Budget and Business Hotel Association (MyBHA), expressed gratitude for the funding but also listed many initiatives he hoped the government would take into account to support the industry's revival.

Ganesh stated in a statement that "we regret that Budget 2023 cannot have a beneficial long-term impact on the recovery efforts of the hotel business" and that "specific modifications to the budget for the hotel and tourism Industry" are required.

Ganesh recommended that the government take steps to support the sector that is more successful in addressing tax losses and revenue leakages brought on by the lack of legislation governing short-term residential accommodations (STRA) and online travel agents (OTA).

The efforts to increase the annual threshold value of service tax (SST) for the hotel business from RM500,000 to RM1.5 million have not changed, he added.

To assure the hotel and tourism industries' resurgence, Ganesh advised the government to work towards introducing a better, kinder, and more efficient budget.