Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months (home quarantine doesn’t count!), you’d know that the government has announced an economic stimulus package that includes tax relief and digital travel vouchers.

The first stimulus package, which was announced in February by former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, is meant to support the domestic tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. An allocation of RM500mil is provided for the travel vouchers and tourism promotion.

Now that we’re allowed to travel interstate again, y’all know what this means, right? We could finally take advantage of the stimulus package! Need a refresher course on what are the incentives? Read down below!

You can benefit from the personal income tax relief of up to RM1,000 on expenditure related to domestic tourism. This means you can claim income tax for your hotel accommodations, domestic flights, attractions and train rides for your travels until 31 December, 2020.

There is also a digital voucher for domestic tourism of up to RM100 per person for domestic flights, train rides and hotel accommodations for all Malaysians. There has been no mention of how you will be able to claim the vouchers yet, but do expect to see more news about this soon!

In addition, the government is also exempting the 6% service tax for hotels from July 1, 2020 to 30 June, 2021. This means that you will save an extra 6% from your final bill when staying at domestic hotels.

You’ll be happy to know that the government has injected RM30mil to Tourism Malaysia to increase promotion on Malaysian tourism in the Middle East, Europe ASEAN and South Asia.

Apart from that, if you’re a business owner in the travel industry, some of the incentives include:

The relief is sought to alleviate the pandemic’s immediate impact on the tourism industry. So, what else are you waiting for? It’s time to start planning your vacation to all the destinations you’ve bookmarked! With fewer international tourists and benefits of the incentives given, this may be the perfect time to start traveling locally!

Malaysia has a lot to offer, from pristine islands to cool highlands and bustling cities that never sleep. Plan your next vacation with Traveloka!