It is a news of joy for the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry players as the government has allowed the reopening of the sector in Movement Control Order (MCO) areas from March 5 2021.
Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said among the standard operating procedures would be to ensure that participants in any MICE activity would be limited to 25% of the room capacity or a maximum of 250 people, whichever is lower.
According to the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, the MICE industry reported a downward trend of RM2.25 billion or 90% reduction in 2020 compared to 2019 which contributed RM9.25 billion to the economy. The effect has affected more than 5,000 workers in the industry a lost of job and many industry players are shutting operations.
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob also added that the government has never disallowed operators from the hotel and homestay sector to operate throughout the MCO period. Hotels including Resorts are allowed to operate but adhering to the SOPs.