By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, March 1: Tourist drivers, Travel Operating Business and Travel (TOBTAB) and Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) companies, operators of spa and reflexology centres, and homestays registered under the Tourism Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac) are eligible to apply for the ministry’s special assistance handout from today until March 15.
TOBTAB and MM2H companies will be paid RM9,000; spas and foot massage centres will get RM3,000; tourist drivers will get RM1,500 and homestay operators are eligible for RM1,800 following an allocation of RM85 million as part of the special aid programme for the tourism industry.
Motac said in a statement today that the payment would be made twice, in March and May 2022.
According to the statement, the allocation for spas and foot massage centres is RM1.5 million, which is expected to benefit up to 500 eligible operators.
This is the second financial assistance provided to spa and reflexology centres operators, with each eligible operator receiving RM1,000 through the People’s Protection and Economic Rehabilitation Package (Pemulih), with a total allocation of RM570,000 in 2021.
For the spa and reflexology centres, the online application form can be found at https://www.motac.gov.my/BantuanSpaPuk.
For the TOBTAB and MM2H companies, the online application form can be found https://www.motac.gov.my/bantuantobtabmm2h/permohonan.
Motac stated that the financial assistance in 2022 is a continuation of the government’s efforts to assist the tourism sector, which was one of the most severely industries affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is hoped the initiative would assist the country’s tourism industry to continue to compete in reviving the national tourism sector,” said Motac.
Motac added that it is targeting 2022 as the year where the industry will fully recover from a prolonged two-year business downturn. — DayakDaily
