KUALA LUMPUR: Airbnb hopes for initiatives that will boost the ailing travel sector ahead of 2022 Budget to be tabled on October 29.
Airbnb Southeast Asia head of public policy Mich Goh said it called on the government to recognise and enable the potential of the sharing economy in the hospitality sector.
Goh said the government needed to approve the regulatory framework proposed by the Malaysian Productivity Corp (MPC).
"Approving and enforcing a clear, coherent and consistent short-term residential accommodation (STRA) framework will ensure that the STRA sector can play a role in driving tourism growth and dollars as the country begins to reopen to international travel," said Goh.
Airbnb also urged the government to adopt an inclusive approach in the formulation and implementation of economic recovery strategies.
It was important that STRA hosts and platforms are included in discussions on tourism reopening, as the country reopened its state borders and gradually resumed overseas travel, Goh said.
"The government also needs to include STRA hosts in key incentives provided to traditional tourism players.
"To ensure that all tourism accommodation players can benefit from government incentives, Airbnb calls for several key incentives - currently dedicated only to traditional players in the tourism sector - to be extended to STRA Hosts (both individuals and SMEs)," she said.
Apart from that, Airbnb hopes for the government to include Airbnb bookings in digital vouchers for domestic tourism.
Goh said the expansion of the scheme would boost local tourism and support Malaysian entrepreneurs and communities.
"We also encourage the government to consider extending the moratorium on loan repayments until March 2022."