13 Hotels in JB Have Closed Down as SG-JB Closure Affects Businesses

By
Rae Woo
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If a genie showed up one day and asked you to make a few wishes, what would you wish for?

Most of us would probably have suffered from cabin fever and other problems long enough to be desperate in wishing that COVID-19 would be over, and that we could finally travel again.

While we’re on this side of the border waiting for the day we can finally cross over to get our fix of delicious food and have a nice vacation, businesses on the Johor side have also been missing us greatly.

Sadly, we might not see some of them ever again.

13 Johor Hotels Closed Down

The far and wide reach of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in 13 hotels in Johor ceasing their operations, as announced by Onn Hafiz Ghazi, chairman of the state’s Tourism, Youth and Sports Committee.

Speaking to the Johor State Legislative Assembly, he shared that the average occupancy rate in hotels have fallen to 28% in August, when it was once 57% in 2019. This was brought about by the closure of the border between Singapore and Malaysia as well as Malaysia’s movement control order (MCO).

With tourism taking a big hit from the loss of Singaporean tourists, local tourist guides have also lost their source of income.

Gone were the days where we could hop over the border to shop for cheap items. Popular Singaporean haunts near the border such as Komtar JBCC and City Square Mall that were once bursting with life have become quiet as well, seeing a severe drop in visitor numbers.

Not only are there barely any visitors, many outlets including big retailers like McDonald’s were also shuttered, turning these malls into deserted scenes one might see in a zombie apocalypse movie.

Tough Border Reopening

Reopening the Singapore-Malaysia border would thus be of utmost importance, especially in saving the tourism industry, and Onn Hafiz has said that the state government is aware of this fact.

However, opening the border successfully is a task that requires the “understanding and agreement” between Singapore’s government, Johor’s government, and the Malaysian federal government, reasoned Onn Hafiz. He added that safety and health factors such as the number of cases in both countries had to be considered as well.

Malaysia is currently on their third wave of infections and has been recording a four-digit increase in COVID-19 cases for five days in a row, and as of Tuesday, 2 Dec, have brought the total tally to 67,169 cases and 363 deaths.

Yes, Malaysia has more cases than Singapore.

Singapore, on the other hand, has also been starting to see cases appearing in the community again after two blissful weeks of zero community cases, with the latest being a cleaner in Changi Airport.

With these figures in consideration, it’s likely that the border won’t be reopening anytime soon, so we’d all have to do what we’re doing best in this pandemic – wait.

Initiatives For Johor’s Tourism Sector

Aimed at ensuring the viability of the tourism sector and pushing it to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, the Johor government has also provided certain initiatives to players in the tourism industry.

Registered tourist guides will receive a one-off payment of RM1000 (SGD $330.78). Under the Ihsan Johor Economic Stimulus Package 2020, payment for business licenses and entertainment duties will also be exempted.

Onn Hafiz also promised that the Johor government will review the Johor State Tourism Master Plan 2014-2023 next year to plan the direction of the tourism sector in a more organised way, in line with current trends.

As for Singapore, well, you should know by now what the goals of the SingapoRediscovers vouchers are, right?

Featured Image: Muhammad Syahid / Shutterstock.com

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Rae Woo
Email: [email protected]