In the 2020 budget, the recent allocation of RM 1.1 billion for the Tourism of Art and Culture Ministry (Motac) which was announced by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has delighted The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA). When contacted the president of MATTA Tan Kon Liang said “ RM1.1 billion for Motac- we’ delighted. So far it is the highest”.

He said out of the allocation an amount of RM90 Million have been allocated for promotional efforts empowering the ministry to continue the ongoing initiatives. Tan also said that they were hoping for a part of the allocation to go to the enforcement and regulatory efforts in the industry to address the increase in the number of illegal travel agents operating through social media platforms especially keeping in mind Visit Malaysia2020.

Commenting on the exemption of excise duty given for vehicles used for ferry tourists, Tan said: “We are more than happy that our wishes for tax incentives for tourism players buying vehicles have been acknowledged”.

He said for the past 30 years, the vehicle models for tourists hasn’t changed in comparison to the other neighbouring countries. Tan said, “Our vehicle models remain unchanged due to the import and excise duties remaining too high for tourism players to buy new vehicles.“But this 50% excise duty exemption for locally-assembled cars (such as Mercedes, BMW, Toyota, etc) means that we can buy better vehicles to service our tourists.

“This is a tremendous boost for us and this was on our wish list for this budget,” he said.

“Modernising the fleet will provide greater comfort to tourists during Visit Malaysia 2020 and enhance the image of the country,”.Tan also added that with the recent e-visa process for tourist it will allow a group application for a maximum of 100 individuals encouraging people to travel in groups from India and China, in particular.