KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Tour bus and tour van operators will be able to increase their prices by up to 80 per cent, the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) announced today in a new price guideline effective from today.

MITA president Mint Leong announced the new price guide, which the local tourism industry has stressed today is crucial for its survival as diesel prices continue to climb up in Malaysia.

“Therefore with that, we announce today price increase for tour buses and tour vans. We are forced to do that because we want to let our industry players survive first before we can serve tourists.

“We increase it by around 70 to 80 per cent from calculations for tour bus and tour vans per day, based on the destination,” she told a press conference here today.

Leong however said this is only a guide for the “ceiling price” or maximum price that tour bus and tour van operators can charge, and said this announcement is made with the aim of price transparency for the entire tourism industry and for tour agencies abroad and tourists globally.

She said this will enable consumers to feel safe and to make sure they are not overpaying for such transport services, while local tourism players will be able to know the maximum price increase they can charge to cope with rising diesel costs.

“For our players, they become more confident, because a lot of players don’t know how much should I increase, how much should I charge, you can charge below, but please don’t overcharge,” she said, noting that this price guide is calculated collectively by local tourism players.

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