PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) has called for a level playing field where every stake holder in the hotel and hospitality industry are subjected to same terms, laws and taxes.
MAH president Yap Lip Seng said that the hotel industry currently complies with multiple laws to ensure the industry and tourists are protected for industry sustainability and growth.
He said this when questioning the claim by Airbnb Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan general manager Mike Orgill’ that it served 3.25 million guests, generating RM3 billion in direct economic impact for the country in the past 12 months.
Orgill’s statement on Tuesday said that the company served over 3.25 million guests in the last 12 months (July 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019), a jump of 73% year-on-year.
He claimed Airbnb had 53,000 accommodation listings in Malaysia and the country continued to be the fastest-growing country for Airbnb in South East Asia for the second year running.
Yap said the 53,000 accommodation listings is “staggering and worrying” the 21% of legitimate hotels.
“The Tourism, Arts & Culture Ministry has a registration database of approximately 250,000 hotel rooms in the country,“ he said.
