Tan
KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) is elated that Budget 2020 contained incentives for the tourism industry.
Matta President Datuk Tan Kok Liang said the industry was especially happy with the incentive for purchasing tour vehicles as many of those used nowadays were old.
He said that the incentives also showed that the government gave consideration to its presentations made to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and top officials from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
“We are delighted with the accelerated capital allowance for the purchase of completely knocked down (CKD) tour vehicles for two years and 50 percent reduction of excise duty for locally assembled vehicles,” he said when asked to comment on the national Budget 2020 that was tabled on Friday.
This, Tan pointed out, would allow operators a great window of opportunity to replace their ageing vehicles at much reduced cost, adding that modernising their fleet would provide greater comfort to tourists during Visit Malaysia 2020 and enhance the image of the country.
The RM1.1 billion allocated to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC), of which RM90 million had been allocated for promotions, should empower MOTAC to step up enforcement and continuation of incentives, such as the matching grant under Galakan Melancong Malaysia (GAMELAN Malaysia 2019), he opined.
“Matta had long been advocating for a policy that is more welcoming for foreign tourists and it is heartening to note that a new mechanism on e-Visa will be introduced to facilitate their arrivals.
“We are happy with the measures and incentives, including those for theme parks that were announced in Budget 2020. With this incentive of the exemption for statutory income for investment in theme parks, it should be a strong encouragement for the establishment of more theme parks, which will boost tourism in the various states,” concluded Tan.
