COVID-19 prompts SEDC's hotel and resorts to relook at services, products
KUCHING, Dec 5 -- In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) in Santubong is trying anything to generate income, including planting local vegetables and herbal plants, introducing new tourism packages and undertaking food deliveries to homes.
Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) Tourism and Hospitality Division managing director Mark Ferguson said vegetables planted around SVC compound are either for sale or cooked at its kitchen and served to customers.
He said the pandemic was actually a blessing in disguise as it allowed them to relook at the tourism products and develop them so that it could benefit their businesses as well as the state’s tourism industry.
He noted that they had to think of innovative ways to get revenue, including developing packages and tourism products to attract visitors to the SCV as the number has dropped drastically to as few as four or five persons a day due to the pandemic.
“Currently, we are cultivating the herbal and orchard garden in SCV, and this would take a few months. We are also planting local vegetables around the SCV to sustain our restaurant here.
"We are doing our best to sustain the business, while keeping our staff number intact during this very difficult time. While we expect international travellers to return soon, we have to focus on domestic travellers in the meantime,” he told Bernama in an interview recently.
Ferguson said like many other businesses, the SEDC Tourism and Hospitality Division is facing grim prospects in the new global economic landscape, where the corporate sector is forced to adapt to the new norms.
“The markets will continuously be threatened by the pandemic and development of new technologies,” he said, adding that SEDC’s hotels occupancy rate had also dropped to as much as below 10 percent due to pandemic fears.
“However, our resorts have benefited in some way from local tourists, especially during weekends. We hope to capitalise on local tourism when the conditional movement control order (CMCO) ended in the Kuching district,” he said.
Asked on SEDC’s hotels performance before, during and after the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO), Ferguson said it was still too early to see an increase in number of guests in their hotels and resorts after the CMCO was lifted on Nov 27.
He said there had been many cancellations for December, noting that both Grand Margherita and Riverside Majestic Astana Wing have been designated as quarantine hotels, while the Riverside Majestic Puteri Wing is closed for renovation until July 2021.
Prior to the MCO, he said SEDC hotels and resorts managed by the Hemisphere Hotels and Resorts --which includes Riverside Majestic, Grand Margherita and Damai Beach Resort -- had enjoyed occupancy rates of above 60 percent and had a thriving food and beverage (F&B) business.
He said Damai Beach Resort remained open throughout the MCO, but the occupancy rate was less than 10 percent.
However, business had gradually picked up since July to achieve over 30 percent occupancy rate in October, with its bonfire sunset barbecue on Saturday night being a huge tourist attraction, while weekend occupancy rate was over 80 percent.
Meanwhile, the Grand Margherita Hotel enjoyed a slow pick up July onwards, and managed to exceed 40 percent occupancy rate in September.
But during the CMCO, business fell to below 10 percent again, with bookings for many rooms and functions being cancelled, Ferguson said.
"In response to the slowdown in business due to the MCO, our hotels and resorts had to be innovative in promoting our rooms and F&B services, for example, at our Grand Margherita Hotel, we converted the Rajang Terrace as an al fresco-style dining concept, where guests can enjoy outdoor dining by the poolside.
"We expanded this concept on Saturday evenings to include a poolside buffet called Chef’s Parade. Strict standard operating procedures were enforced, including having our chefs serving the food instead of guests helping themselves," he said.
Ferguson said last year, the SEDC had embarked on several development initiatives and improvement works, including the refurbishment and upgrading works for 239 guestrooms and corridors, third floor functions rooms and other related works at the Puteri Wing of Riverside Majestic Hotel in Kuching.
He said similar works had also been undertaken at the Grand Margherita Hotel and Sarawak Plaza shopping complex, Sunset Ballroom foyer at Damai Beach Resort as well as at the Damai Lagoon Resort and Spa.
“SEDC itself is expected to invest substantially to develop the Damai Peninsular into a major tourist destination, based on the tourism masterplan to develop the location with new attractions and other development initiatives,” he added.