Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Satta) hopes City Hall will seek more allocations from the Federal Government instead of depending on industry players.
As the 17th Sabah General Election is set to take place this month, Satta hopes the new government will adjust City Hall’s hotel licence fees to a more reasonable level.
Chairman Datuk Seri Winston Liaw made the call as it has been nearly a year since City Hall reinstated the hotel licensing rates under the Hotel and Lodging Houses By-Laws 1966, which has been burdensome to hotel operators.
To ease the pressure, Liaw urged City Hall to consider lowering the licensing rates.
Under the reinstated fees that took effect on Jan 1, 2025, Class 1 hotels are charged RM4.65, Class 2 (RM2.65) and Class 3 (RM1.30). All charges are based on per occupied room per day. There are no charges for unoccupied rooms.
“These reinstated rates have caused many hoteliers to pass the expenses on to tourists, further dampening the tourism growth of Kota Kinabalu,” said Liaw.
Previously, hotel operators were required to pay a standard licensing fee of only RM10 per room per annum regardless of category, he said.
“Based on calculations, the new fee structure represents a 10,000 per cent increase in licensing fees.
“For a five-star hotel with 500 rooms calculated at a 60 per cent average occupancy rate, the hotel needs to pay half a million ringgit to renew its licence, compared with only RM5,000 previously,” said Liaw.
For a budget hotel operator with 50 rooms, the licence fee has increased from RM500 to RM14,000, he said.
He added that in recent years, as more direct flights have flown into Tawau and diverted tourists to Semporna, Kota Kinabalu has suffered a significant drop in tourist arrivals.
Tourism growth in the west coast areas, including Kota Kinabalu, Kota Belud, Kudat and Papar, has deteriorated, while the interior regions such as Tambunan, Keningau and Tenom have also experienced a decline in visitors, he said.
At the same time, he said the surge in tourist arrivals to Tawau and Semporna has affected the tourism industry on the east coast as proper infrastructure for visitors remains lacking.
Furthermore, the lack of cleanliness in Semporna has also created an eyesore in the district’s attractions, he said.
Feedback from Chinese tourists visiting Semporna has shown dissatisfaction over the level of cleanliness, and he hopes the Semporna Municipal Council will be more proactive in maintaining the district’s cleanliness.
