SIBU, May 13: Most hotels in the central region are choosing to stay closed despite being allowed to resume business during the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).
According to Sarawak Central Region Hotel Associaton chairman Johnny Wong, demand for hotel accommodation is still muted and fears remain that workers could contract Covid-19.
“Hotels here depend on outsiders for their business. As outsiders cannot come in due to travel restriction during this conditional MCO, the operators prefer not to resume business,” he said, adding that the number of travellers is still low so it makes no sense to reopen if there are only a handful of guests.
Hotels across Malaysia have shut doors since March 18 when the first phase of the MCO came into effect.
Sibu town is currently categorised as a yellow Covid-19 zone with six cases.
Wong revealed that only two-star rated hotels in Sibu have reopened for business a few days ago but are not offering in-house cafeteria services. All smaller hotels remain closed.
“Operators of smaller hotels are not prepared to reopen as they feared that if their employees contract the virus, they would be fully responsible for their well-being. The government has said clearly that hoteliers will have to take care of their staff should they be admitted to the hospital with the virus,” he added.
He does not foresee hotels here resuming normal operations anytime soon. — DayakDaily
