Dear Esteemed Members,

The Covid19 pandemic has devastated the global tourism industries and Kuala Lumpur is no exception. The industry has faced unprecedented challenges and the respite is not yet clear in sight. 

We could speculate that the national vaccine program will allow our international borders to reopen by the end of the year or even some time well into the next. There is no certainty that even in 2022 there will be much improvement. As new strains and mutations of the virus are discovered, it is getting ever more bleak for many industry players.

As gloomy as the outlook seems, we must not completely give up hope. The skies will eventually reopen to international travel and tourism will again come alive – this we must all preciously hold on to. And when this eventuality happens we must be ready to bounce back and seize the opportunities to rebuild our city’s tourism sector. 

Not too long ago Kuala Lumpur was in the top 10 list of most visited cities in the world. Do we have what it takes to recapture a sizeable portion of the international tourist market when travel resumes? I am sure our neighbouring countries and their main cities will fiercely compete for a chunk of the pie. Will our industry be so damaged that it would leave us disadvantaged in the competition to attract foreign tourists? I for one cannot provide these answers, but the questions are indeed playing in my mind as I’m sure some of yours.

Given the situation, it is imperative that we as industry players be proactive in minimizing the damage done to the industry as a whole. It is crucial that we lock arms and work together to ensure that the industry stays alive long enough to be able to thrive again once the skies open to international travel. 

The KLTA Executive Committee has put together some plans to ensure that collectively, we as members and industry players do something to ensure our own mutual survival. But the only way for these programmes to have any impact on the industry is for there to be a critical mass of members. Thus membership retention and growth is one of the Executive Committee’s key priorities.  

I urge you to renew your membership in the KLTA in order to be able to reap the benefits and to join us in actively saving the industry for our own individual, and collective good. I have faith in the programmes that we hope to rollout soon will have some impact and serve to rebuild and prepare us for the sunny skies that I am convinced will eventually come. 

Best wishes,

Farouk Nurish 
President 2020-2022