KUALA LUMPUR: It is difficult for the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to regulate online international travel agencies, says Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
The Tourism Minister said several international online travel agencies are foreign-owned companies that are based overseas.
As such, she said even though their business activity is covered by the Tourism Industry Act 1992 (Act 482), their nature of business that only operates online without opening an office or physical premises in Malaysia made it difficult for the ministry to take legal or enforcement action against them.
Despite this, Nancy said the ministry was more inclined to take a supportive approach that can stimulate the tourism industry to thrive and grow.
“The ministry has conducted several engagement sessions with a few international online travel agencies that offer packages or travel services in this country to comply with Act 482 and to register their operations by obtaining the Tour Operating Business and Travel Agency Business (TOBTAB) licence.
“As a result, there are foreign online travel agencies companies that have opened branches here and have ministry licences such as Klook Travel Technology Sdn Bhd, Traveloka Sdn Bhd, and BEX Travel Malaysia Sdn Bhd,” she told Larry Sng (PBM - Julau) in Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (March 24).
Sng asked about the ministry’s efforts to regulate the foreign tourism agencies in the country.
He added there were international tourism agencies such as Agoda, Trivago, Traveloka, Booking.com and other tourism operators operating in the country that are not registered with the ministry under the TOBTAB license.
Nancy said TOBTAB was developed by the ministry to license companies that offered online tourism packages.
“The implementation of these guidelines is among the ministry’s first steps to streamline and strengthen activities that offer online tourism packages in the country,” she said.
On digital tax to be imposed on these companies, she said that this will be discussed with the Finance Ministry.