Its president, Tan Kok Liang, said the levy will not have a significant impact on domestic tourism unless travellers have “extreme budget constraints”.
“Not all air passengers are ‘tourists’. A number of them fly internationally for religious reasons (umrah, haj, or others), education, business, medical treatment and to visit families,” he told FMT.
Earlier today, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said Putrajaya plans to impose a departure levy on all outbound air travellers, starting June 1 next year.
Lim, when tabling the budget, said the proposed rate will be two-tiered, RM20 for outbound travellers to Asean countries and RM40 for those going to other countries.
Tan argued that for Malaysians who could afford to travel overseas, the departure levy will not stop them from travelling.
He said a majority of countries did not impose such a levy.