KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 —Tourism industry players are disappointed that Budget 2023 had failed to look into a positive long-term impact on them.

Utusan Malaysia reported the President of the Malaysian Budget and Business Hotel Association (MyBHA), Sri Ganesh Michiel as saying that the budget should have a specific improvement for the hospitality and tourism industry.

He said the industry needed a more effective solution in terms of allocation to resolve the threats it faced and to recover taxes and revenue that were lost due to the absence of specific laws.

"This is because of the threat of industries such as short-term residential accommodation (STRA) and all types of online travel agencies (OTA) had occurred due to the absence of specific laws to regulate,” he was quoted as saying.

Sri Ganesh said Malaysia should strive to introduce a more effective budget for the hospitality industry.

He added the tourism industry in general is a viable industry but is affected due to the lack of sustainable recovery for the hospitality industry this year.

"We hope that the government can consider helping the hospitality industry to survive and recover gradually in the years to come," he said.

In Budget 2023, RM250 million has been allocated to promote tourism and efforts to resolve road congestion for tourism hotspots.