The award-winning School of Hospitality, Tourism & Events (SHTE) hosted a successful “Forum on Impact of Covid-19 on the Hospitality and Tourism Industry in Malaysia” held on 11th March 2020 at Taylor’s University. The forum was moderated by Prof. Dr. Neethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan, President of ASEAN Tourism Research Association (ATRA) and Executive Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management, Taylor's University Malaysia.
Key representatives from the Hospitality and Tourism sectors were invited to share their views. Esteemed panel members comprised of YM Dato’ Seri Dr Tunku Iskandar bin Tunku Abdullah, Group Executive Chairman, Melewar Group Bhd; Nigel Wong, Honorary Secretary General, MATTA; Jonathan Lai, General Manager, Holiday Inn Express KL City Center; David Xavier, General Manager, Impiana KLCC; Kuhendran Indran, Director of Human Resource; and Dr. Puvaneswaran Kunasekaran, Senior Lecturer from Taylor’s University, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events and Honorary Treasurer, ASEAN Tourism Research Association (ATRA).
The key takeaways were the time to train and upskill staff in this sector, the preference of employers in cost cutting measures to weather this storm and the need for policymakers to build other tourism destinations (explore other islands and smaller towns).