PETALING JAYA, June 10 — Hotel and tourism associations and a state tourism minister said the implementation of the Tourism Tax Act 2017 would doom an industry already reeling from a slow first quarter.

Malaysian Association of Hotels president Cheah Swee Hee said the tax was disproportionately leveraged against registered hotels and exempted providers under property letting services such as Airbnb.

 "The increased costs could push local and foreign tourists towards unlicensed businesses which are not regulated for safety or other standards,” he said.

"How will the government collect taxes from such establishments?”

Tourism Malaysia listed 4,799 hotels in the country and 304,721 hotel rooms as of 2015. But travel websites such as Agoda.com listed more than 8,000 apartments and homestays, while Airbnb listed more than 5,000.

Cheah said the tax had come at the worst possible time with major hotels facing an occupancy rate of 40 per cent or less.

"The industry is already under strain from the minimum wage requirement, the Goods and Services Tax and high costs of goods.”

Langkawi Tourism Association chief executive officer Zainudin Kadir said the purpose of the tax had not been explained.

"We have not been told what this new tax is for,” he said, adding the increased costs would deter foreign arrivals as neighbouring countries were putting up stiff competition.

Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture and Youth Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the government had not consulted the state government.

"Stakeholders have voiced their dissatisfaction and the hoteliers are not happy, Sarawakians are not happy. We deserve to have our say in its imposition,” he said.

Abdul Karim said the people of the state needed a guarantee that funds raised would be used for the purpose of developing tourism.

"We have to be sure that the revenue taken from the state’s tourism industry is indeed channelled back for the benefit of the industry, but this has yet to be done.”

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the state government needed to study the tax but declined to take a position on it.

"We will discuss it at the Cabinet meeting and study the law and its implication,” he said.