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Thursday, May 7, 2015

Only 40-50% occupied, Johor hoteliers fear VEP fee may further hit business

Only 40-50% occupied, Johor hoteliers fear VEP fee may further hit business
JOHOR BARU - With the vehicle entry permit (VEP) scheme for foreign vehicles entering Johor to start in August, hoteliers in the state are worried that this move will put an additional strain on their business.
The state chapter of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) will call for a dialogue with the state government in an effort to promote the tourism industry here as Singaporeans make up the bulk of the industry’s customers to Johor.
Johor MAH chairman Shyam Nair said the state’s hotel industry is not in the best situation as it currently sees only a 40-45% occupancy rates.
“We (the association) see this as being due to a struggling of the local economy in the past few months.
“However, for hotels located in Johor, the situation is fragile as it is dependent on the Singapore-pull factor,” he told The Rakyat Post today.
Shyam said the situation may be critical for the industry here with the addition of the RM20 VEP fee for Singapore-registered vehicles come Aug 1 this year.
“Don’t get us wrong as we are not against the VEP and we support the government’s effort in this matter.
“What we are looking at is to see if the state government can initiate a dialogue with all stakeholders in Johor and also lengthen the timeframe for the VEP’s implementation or to propose a lower fee with the federal government,” he said.
Shyam said that the association will hold a meeting with all its members next week to discuss on how best to tackle the situation.
He said the association hopes to engage the state government to ask for help in intervening in the matter as it involves a matter of state tourism as well.
It is learnt that the Johor MAH will look into several possibilities, including urging the state government to propose lowering the RM20 VEP fee to RM10 for foreign vehicles entering the state.
Early last month, the Transport Ministry confirmed that all foreign vehicles entering Malaysia through the Causeway here, and the Second Link Expressway in Gelang Patah, will have to pay the VEP fee on Aug 1.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi was reported as saying that the proposed RM20 rate would remain as it was appropriate.
Johor MAH has a total of 73 hotels under the state chapter and most are dependent on Singaporeans as a main source of income due to the state neighbouring the island republic.
For the past three to four years, south Johor’s Iskandar Malaysia economic growth region has seen the rise of tourism-related places of interest such as Johor Premium Outlets (JPO), Legoland Malaysia, international events and a host of shopping complexes that have been popular with Singaporeans. - Therakyatpost

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