‘Did we lose over 300,000 tourists with tourism tax?’

(From left to right) PKR Youth information chief Lee Chean Chung and Pahang PKR Youth chief Wong Chun Yuan.

PETALING JAYA: Pahang PKR Youth chief Wong Chun Yuan wants Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Aziz to come clean over tourism statistics, particularly for the month of October.

In a press conference at the PKR headquarters at Merchant Square here today, Wong said he was concerned about statistics handed to him from someone inside the ministry, which painted a grim picture of tourism in the country a month after the tourism tax was implemented in September.

According to the statistics he received, there was a decline of 329,418 tourists or 14% in October compared to September, which brought the total number of tourists in the country to 1,997,069.

In October 2015, the number had increased by 243,621 or 11% compared to the previous month.

“I tried to obtain the statistics from the My Tourism Data webpage recently but could not find them, so I called Tourism Malaysia for the September and October statistics. I was told that they had the statistics with them but were not allowed to share it with the public,” Wong said.

“I therefore had to rely on an inside source, and now I want Nazri to either confirm the statistics or deny them.”

Wong said the numbers were also worrying for the youth of Pahang, as losing tourists meant that small and medium industries would suffer, and that local youth would continue to be forced to work out of the state.

PKR Youth information chief Lee Chean Chung, who was also present today, said Pahang was one of three states being promoted for tourism this year, alongside Perak and Terengganu.

Lee, who is also Semambu assemblyman, said RM5 million had been allocated for tourism efforts in the state.

“Tourism Pahang also set up a campaign to sell VIP (Visit Pahang) licence plates, and this helped them rake in RM10 million.

“That’s RM15 million all together. Where has that money gone now?”

Lee added that the supposed tourism statistics for October marked the first time since June 2015 that Malaysia had less than two million tourists. -FMT