Tag - Travel

KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) welcomes the federal government’s announcement on exemption of Sales and Services Tax (SST) next month for all intrastate flights in Sabah and Sarawak. Matta President Datuk Tan Kok Liang said that while it did not fulfill their request for a full exemption on domestic flights, it was good news for the Borneon states. Tan when contacted yesterday pointed out that Matta initially requested for full exemption on domestic flights when the SST is implemented. “Under the GST regime, service tax was imposed on intrastate flights … with this announcement at least there is some improvement as domestic flights are essential mode of transport in Sabah and Sarawak,” he stressed. Tan last week said that “the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) in the Royal Malaysian Customs Department’s website state that domestic flights on or after 1st September 2018 are subjected to a 6 per cent service tax. Under the previous Tax Model, domestic flights were outscoped to service tax.” Matta, he said appealed to the Ministry of Finance for all domestic air tickets be exempted from service tax and the government could collect much more SST from higher spending on other goods and services.” Exempting service tax on all domestic air tickets is to ensure other states in Malaysia will also appeal to tourists as holiday destinations, he was quoted as saying. “As of now, tourists especially bound for East Malaysia are complaining of high air fares from Kuala Lumpur. How are we to develop smaller towns and states apart from Kuala Lumpur as tourism hubs? “Unfortunately, the high costs of air travel especially between the Peninsular and East Malaysia have driven Malaysians to opt for regional travel instead of local holidays. Adding six per cent service tax on domestic flights would be a disincentive for ‘flying local’,” he said. Tan added, “Service tax exemption on all domestic air tickets would benefit the state’s and the country’s economy. Domestic tourism is one of the key anchors in the tourism industry and expected to continue its growth trajectory with inbound tourism receipts amounted to RM82.1 billion last year, and domestic tourism RM83.1 billion.” “The resulting multiplier effects of the service tax exemption would inevitably add to government revenues through enlarged economic activities especially from visits between the Peninsular and Sabah and Sarawak seeking employment, education, medical needs and family commitments. Furthermore, air transportation for many East Malaysians is considered a necessity in view of its geographical landscape and the lack of adequate land transportation.” On Saturday, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in announcing the exemption said it was given as most of the time air travel was the only practical option for travelling between cities in the two states. “This will only work if you are flying from, say, Kuching to Bintulu or Miri, or from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau. But not from Kota Kinabalu to Kuching. Then you will still be taxed under SST,” he said. He said no such exemption would be given for flights in Peninsular Malaysia, due to the relatively short travel distance between cities in a state. “How many domestic airports do we have in one state? If you’re in Senai, Johor, where do you want to fly to in the state?” he said during a briefing with Customs director-general T Subromaniam. Later, Subromaniam told reporters that the tax exemption was given because Sabah and Sarawak have many domestic airports. Source: Borneo Post Online

Kota Kinabalu: Malindo Air celebrated its inaugural direct flight from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Friday. The flight is part of the airline's continuous effort to expand its network in the region. Malindo Air Flight OD831, operated by a Boeing 737NG aircraft, departed Changi Airport at 12.40pm and arrived at KKIA at 3.05pm. The flight was greeted by the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datu Rosmadi Datu Sulai, who together with senior Sabah Tourism Board (STB) officials welcomed the arrival of 65 passengers. Speaking to reporters, Datu Rosmadi said the State Government through the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry welcomed the launching of direct flights from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu to further enhance tourism in the State. "Although the number of passengers on the first day was only 65, I am confident it will increase from time to time and on the part of the Ministry, we will help promote the direct flight," he said. He hoped the airline would launch more direct flights to the State in the future to further develop tourism which is very important to Sabah. Chandran Rama Muthy, CEO of Malindo Air, said they are thrilled to start the flight. "This is our second direct flight from Singapore to Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur. "This new service will provide a premium option for the two-hour-25-minute journey. We hope to attract more visitors to Malaysia and enhance awareness of our network beyond Kota Kinabalu, as we are currently offering direct flights from Kota Kinabalu to Guangzhou, Changsha, Chengdu and Zhengzhou in China, and we will have Nanning, Tian Jin and Xi'an soon," he added. Acting Group Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Airports, Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin, said the new route from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu by Malindo Air will boost connectivity in East Malaysia. "Known for its famous offerings of seafood and tourist attractions, Kota Kinabalu has a lot of room to grow in tourism. We strongly believe that Malindo Air's choice of this new route will significantly contribute to the increase in passengers at KKIA and in turn strengthen our aim to make Malaysia a global hub." Flight OD830 from Kota Kinabalu to Singapore will depart KKIA at 9.15am and arrive at 11.40am. The fares include 25kg (economy class) and 40kg (business class) baggage allowance, snacks on board and spacious legroom. The narrow body Boeing 737 NG aircraft which has 12 business and 150 economy seats is deployed on this route. - Neil Chan Source: Daily Express Newspaper Online

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 14 — Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew today said that Sabah is on track to achieve its 3.85 million tourist arrivals this year. She said that the state has so far received 1.891 million tourists as of July. “This is a 5.3 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. I believe we are on track to achieve the 3.85 million target,” said Liew during a press conference at the State Assembly building today. “I’m very proud to present these figures as it shows Sabah is getting more popular as a tourist destination,” she said. Liew said contributing to the figures are some 152 chartered flights from China and Japan bringing in some 20,000 extra tourists. “As of July 2018, there are around 200 chartered flights scheduled to come to Sabah, right up to March next year. These are mostly from second-tier Chinese cities, and some 72 from South Korea. “Additionally, there are some new direct routes coming into the state, from Bangkok this week, and then Macau and Shenzhou later in the year,” she said. Liew said that the flourishing tourism was a good opportunity for the state to leverage on its lesser-known east coast and spread the influx of tourists. “First we have to develop new features for tourism products. We recently visited the Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Springs and we will continue to go to different parts of Sabah,” she said. The ministry is proposing an upgrade to the latter, by building high-end accommodation in the hot springs in Ranau which can help bring in more foreign tourists. “We also want to use this opportunity to spread the influx to the east coast. The current number of rooms on the west coast cannot carry the influx. If all incoming tourists are concentrated on the west coast, there may not be enough hotel rooms. So are we are now launching tourism packages for Tawau,” said Liew, who is also Tawau MP. Source: Malay Mail Online