Waive Entertainment Tax Theme Parks Urge Govt

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The Malaysian Association of Amusement Theme Park and Family Attractions is confident that visitors will return with the safety measures put in place. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: An association of theme parks has asked the government to waive the collection of entertainment tax as they prepare to receive visitors with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions from July 1
This, the Malaysian Association of Amusement Theme Park and Family Attractions (MAATFA) said, could lead to a reduction in entry fees which would especially benefit those with big families
Its president, Richard Koh, said it would also help the theme parks kickstart the sector and contribute to the tourism industry, which had been a major contributor to the economy before the Covid-19 outbreak
Expressing optimism that the theme parks and family attractions will bounce back, Koh said: “We have seen hotels, shopping malls and other sectors reopen within the past few weeks and the pent-up demand is obvious
“We believe that the number of visitors will gradually increase if the parks adhere strictly to the safety measures.”He assured the public that extensive measures were being put in place to curb the spread of the virus
“The safety precautions are more stringent than those in supermarkets or shopping malls as we have dedicated manpower to enforce them. Perhaps only the aviation industry and hospitals would have stricter control than theme parks,” he said
Sunway theme parks representative Eunice Chua echoed Koh’s statement, saying the parks would only operate at 50% capacity to adhere to social distancing
However, Chua said there would be no restriction on the entry of children below 12
She said as the use of face masks would not be applicable for water attractions, other preventive measures had been put in place to ensure the safety of visitors
“Our pools are chlorinated and the water quality is checked every two hours using an auto dosing system for maintaining pool water chemistry,” she said. - FMT

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