Hotel group denies report of surge in room bookings in Langkawi

KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): The Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) has denied a report on Astro Awani of a surge in hotel room bookings within an hour of the announcement of the recovery movement control order (RMCO) yesterday.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Langkawi Tourism Association (LTA), Zainudin Kadir, was yesterday reported as saying that hotels in Langkawi received a thousand room bookings just between the short period of 4pm to 4.45pm immediately after the announcement of the RMCO.

In a statement, MAH chief executive officer (CEO) Yap Lip Seng said while the LTA claims to represent tourism stakeholders of the popular island, little is known about its membership and the source of the data reported.

He said a quick search on the Internet revealed a defunct web page offering investment, stock exchange, banking and business consulting services, among others.

“Similarly, its Facebook page was also inactive,” he said.

MAH Kedah and Perlis chairman Eugene Dass, along with member hotels in Langkawi, clarified that as much as the industry would love to see such a surge in hotel bookings, the one thousand hotel bookings did not take place.

“Instead, the said news caused much anxiety and concerns among hoteliers and their employees as to how such flawed information could spread through reputable news agencies like Astro Awani,” he said.

Meanwhile, MAH acting president Mohamad Halim Merican said recovery is the responsibility of the community and not just the industry.

“We will overcome this phase together with facts and data to support economic growth,” he said.

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