At the recent Tourism Industry Engagement Session, the chairman of The Malaysian Budget Hotel Association, Sabah Chapter (MyBHA Sabah) maintained that there should be a regulatory framework for short-term rental accommodation (STRA) premises to operate under.

“We ask that STRA be regulated accordingly, and not banned. STRA operators should also be subjected to the usual requirements like being properly licensed and insured, compliance with the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) requirements and so on."

“As such, international tourists staying in STRA must also pay Tourism Tax (TTx), come July 1, 2021. Sabah’s share of TTx for 2019 is RM12.9 million. It could have been much more if there had been an imposition of TTx on STRA operations,” Chairman James Ong voiced.

A concerned Chairman of the Sabah Tourist Association (STA), Tonny Chew, who also spoke, sought clarification on the standard operating procedure (SOP) in the event that a passenger is found to have fever after boarding a flight.

In such cases, it was heard that passengers in the front and back rows of the suspected person will have to go through a test on arrival at the airport, and only those who test negative for Covid-19 are allowed to leave the airport.

He added: “With SOPs in place and their enforcement, we look forward to the early reopening of borders.”

Reference:
"'Regulate, Don't Ban Short-Term Accomodation Rentals' | Daily Express Online - Sabah's Leading News Portal". Dailyexpress.Com.My, 2020, http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/155528/regulate-don-t-ban-short-term-accomodation-rentals-/.