Under the fee schedule, those staying at hotels in Penang are required to pay RM3 per night for hotels rated four stars and above and RM2 per night for hotels rated three stars and below.

“Along with the waiver of tourism tax at the federal level, we hope this will help efforts in recovering our tourism industry in the months to come,” state tourism committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said in a statement.

The exemption of tourism tax payments from July to June 30 next year is part of the National Economic Recovery Plan or Penjana.

Official data shows that RM19.7 million was collected in hotel fees from 2014 to September 2016.

In Penang alone, two hotels have been forced to close as a result of the partial lockdown imposed in mid-March.

This includes the Holiday Inn Resort in Batu Ferringhi, which also laid off some 200 workers.

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