KUCHING: With the gradual resumption of the tourism industry under the new normal, hotel operators need to be confident in their competency to effectively mitigate Covid-19 risk, said Patrick Lau.
The general manager of Grand Margherita Hotel and Riverside Majestic Hotel said the reopening of the tourism industry was indeed highly anticipated with the government’s recent assurance that restrictions on interstate travel are expected to be lifted once the country’s vaccination rate reaches 90 percent.
He stressed that precautions with essential safety measures should be implemented and enforced with standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place prior to the resumption, and with a focus on hygiene.
“Moving forward towards the endemic stage, we need to ensure contingency plans account for emerging disruptive controls or further extensions of restrictions authorised by the government.
“Above all, engaging our hotel guests and prioritising staff welfare in hospitality by taking care of their wellbeing should be the main focus as an approach towards a safer community,” he said when contacted yesterday.
He said the reopening of the tourism industry would benefit the economic growth of the country including Sarawak and be an enabler as a starting point to reviving domestic tourism for fully vaccinated individuals.
“As one of the hoteliers affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, we can see a beginning for recovery in our operations and resuming business with significant changes mainly on operating as ‘Digital Driven Business — Innovation for the New Normal’.
“We aim to optimise guest experience to create happier guests by innovating faster, collaborating efficiently, and delivering more value with less effort for our staff,” said Lau.
In supporting the state’s digital economy agenda, he said there was a need to implement measures to build a more resilient tourism economy post Covid-19.
He added that this was especially in working together to support the sustainable recovery of both domestic and international tourism, venturing into digital transition, moving towards Go Green Initiatives, and rebuilding tourism for the future in hopes of restoring travellers’ confidence.
He pointed out that the hotel industry had been the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic since the enforcement of the first movement control order (MCO) on March 18 last year.
“It caused our hotels, namely Grand Margherita Hotel as well as Riverside Majestic Hotel Puteri Wing and Astana Wing, to be struck with business coming to a standstill — whereby most events had been deferred indefinitely, leading to incurred revenue losses,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said that there was a glimmer of hope with the National Recovery Plan (NRP) in effect, noting that Sarawak’s Southern Zone is set to enter Phase 3 soon to be on par with the rest of the state.
With more restrictions lifted, he said, the situation had improved compared to the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There is no rainbow without rain — this is the right consolation in this difficult and unexpected time,” he said.
On lessons learned during the pandemic from the business perspective, Lau said, “We must remain adaptive to change.”
“We shall forgo any hope of going back to ‘normal’, and build anew with common vision and make bold moves to come out winners,” he asserted.
