Staff shortage may hold back Malaysia's tourism sector as visitors return

Hotels and other tourism players in Malaysia are looking forward to the full reopening of the country's borders, but manpower shortages could affect their ability to ramp up services.

From today, fully vaccinated foreigners can enter Malaysia without the need for quarantine, while locals will be allowed to travel overseas freely.

Although it remains to be seen if the hospitality sector will see a swift return to full occupancy, some businesses are currently facing staff shortages - a legacy of Covid-19 lockdowns and travel curbs over the last two years.

Mr Olivier Lenoir, general manager of Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, said: "We have been anticipating the comeback of more regional and international tourists to the hotel for months on end."

While manpower changes were inevitable during the pandemic, the hotel staff has coped with changing business operations, he told The Straits Times.

He added: "Once the border reopening is in effect, we expect an increment in general occupancy daily in view of foreign tourist traffic."

The New York Hotel in Johor Baru, with an occupancy rate of around 48 per cent, is now operating with just enough manpower.

Its general manager Tan Ai Lee said: "The staff and heads of department are all multitasking. We are now adding more staff... We expect to see a busy JB again."

Mr Freddie Lee, executive director of UMLand Lifestyle, the food and beverage arm of developer UMLand, which owns developments in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru, including Zenith mall, said the company is increasing manpower.

"With the reopening of the borders, many businesses which have survived are scrambling to recruit staff in anticipation of better business," he told ST.

"Our Toast Box franchise, Suasana Suites and Amari Hotel are urgently seeking new staff."

Mr Yap Lip Seng, chief executive of the Malaysian Association of Hotels, said: "The industry is positive and supportive of the reopening, and we are hopeful that the requirements will be made as traveller-friendly as possible.

"On the same note, we need to still establish vaccinated travel lanes with countries that are not fully open to accommodate travel from both sides."

He also noted that tourism marketing efforts need to be stepped up to promote Malaysia.

Many tourism workers were forced to move to other sectors or start businesses over the last two years amid massive layoffs. Not all are raring to return to the industry.

Former Malindo Air flight attendant Hana Batrisya Zainol, 24, started a nasi lemak venture with her husband Muhammad Nur Azizee Roslan, who was in catering, after they were retrenched from the airline in 2020. "Now is not the right time to go back to flying. It is still not stable yet," she said, referring to the Covid-19 situation.

"For now, we are both enjoying this business, and we plan on expanding to another state."

The couple are also looking into selling their frozen nasi lemak to airlines and mini-marts.

Some industry players say the minimum wage hike from RM1,200 (S$387) to RM1,500 a month starting on May 1 will further strain their finances.

Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel, deputy president of the Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association, said: "The hotel industry is still in the process of recovery...

"The decision (to raise the minimum wage) is not fair to hotel industry players."

Most of them are facing cash flow problems and will take a long time to recover, he added.

Still, many are optimistic that the industry will bounce back.

UMLand Lifestyle's Mr Lee said: "The reopening of the borders will bring back some hope for the hard-pressed business sector and for those commuting to work in Singapore."

Malaysians are also planning to travel abroad, now that the country's borders are reopening. Madam Kavita Tharmalingam, who is self-employed, wants to take her family on a holiday to Europe in the next three months.

"It is convenient now that some countries allow vaccinated tourists to enter without quarantine," the 42-year-old told ST.

The only hassle for her, perhaps, is in renewing her family members' passports, which had expired during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, airline ticket sales have surged. Malaysia Airlines has increased flights to London, Bangkok, Sydney and Perth, while AirAsia's ticket sales to Singapore have soared.

"We have seen an increase of 281 per cent for flights sold from Malaysia to Singapore after April 1," said AirAsia chief commercial officer Tan Mai Yin. Apart from increasing its Singapore-Kuala Lumpur daily flight frequency from one to four, the airline will also resume flights between Singapore and Kuching, Miri, Langkawi, Ipoh and Kota Kinabalu.