GEORGE TOWN, May 13 — The Penang state government has introduced an electricity bill subsidy for the tourism industry to help its players stay afloat during movement control order (MCO) 3.0.

Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said the state government will allocate RM1 million for this one-off assistive package to alleviate the financial burden faced by tourism-related businesses.

"This subsidy will be given to hoteliers, travel agencies, tourist attractions and theme parks,” he said in a statement issued today.

He said he hopes the subsidy will help the tourism sector to survive this round of MCO, especially when tourism activities are restricted.

Yeoh said the state understood the difficulties faced by the industry and had expedited its decision to introduce the one-off subsidy within two days after the announcement of MCO 3.0.

"I hope this subsidy will be useful in easing the cash flow of the affected businesses in the tourism industry," he said.

Earlier this year, the state government announced several moratoriums for the tourism industry, including water bills, quit rent, assessment rates and business licence fees, for the whole of 2021.

The state government, through its People's Aid Package, has also disbursed one-off allocations, such as RM1.3 million for registered tourist guides, RM1.4 million for hair salons, spas and beauty centres, RM31,500 for mobile spas and RM100,000 for event management companies.

Details on the electricity subsidy will be announced soon on the Penang state government's official portal and on Yeoh's social media (@yeohsoonhin).