By WU VUIDE
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Satta) hopes Kota Kinabalu City Hall will seek more allocations from the Federal Government instead of depending on industry players.
As the 17th Sabah General Election is set to take place this month, Satta also hopes the new government will review City Hall’s hotel licensing fees and adjust them to a more reasonable level.
Chairman Datuk Seri Winston Liaw said it has been nearly a year since City Hall reinstated the hotel licensing rates under the Hotel and Lodging Houses By-Laws 1966, which have been burdensome to hotel operators.
To ease the pressure, he urged City Hall to consider lowering the rates.
Under the new fees effective 1 January 2025, Class 1 hotels are charged RM4.65, Class 2 (RM2.65) and Class 3 (RM1.30) per occupied room per day, while unoccupied rooms are exempted.
“These reinstated rates have forced many hoteliers to pass the expenses on to tourists, further dampening Kota Kinabalu’s tourism growth,” said Liaw.
Previously, hotel operators paid a standard fee of RM10 per room per annum regardless of category.
“Based on calculations, the new structure represents a 10,000 per cent increase. For a five-star hotel with 500 rooms at a 60 per cent average occupancy, the licence renewal now costs about RM500,000 compared with only RM5,000 previously,” he said.
A budget hotel with 50 rooms now pays RM14,000 instead of RM500.
Liaw said more direct flights to Tawau have diverted tourists to Semporna, leading to a decline in arrivals to Kota Kinabalu, Kota Belud, Kudat, Papar and the interior districts.
He added that despite the surge in arrivals to Semporna, the east coast still lacks proper infrastructure and cleanliness, which has drawn complaints from Chinese tourists.
on to tourists, further dampening Kota Kinabalu’s tourism growth.
