MALAYSIA corporates are scaling down outbound events and postponing incentive trips to 2016 as the weak national currency makes travel plans too pricey to bear, trade players told TTGmice e-Weekly.
At press time, the ringgit has depreciated some 33 per cent against the US dollar and is now trading at 4.3027.
Syed Mohd Razif Al Yahya, group managing director and group CEO of Sutra Utama, said local corporate companies – mostly from the oil and gas, manufacturing and education sectors – had halved meeting and incentive budget this year.
“Some multi-level marketing companies, automobile, and oil and gas companies have postponed incentives to longhaul destinations to next year, hoping that the currency will improve by then. Overseas meetings are still happening but because of budget cuts, companies are sending fewer staff,” he added.
Adam Kamal, CEO of Rakyat Travel, also shared that three local clients had postponed their year-end incentives to next year because the weak foreign exchange had caused travel costs to exceed budgets.
“Those programmes were to Australia and Europe – London and Paris combined,” Kamal said.
Outbound MICE specialists are not the only ones to see a dent in business. Local hotels with meeting facilities are also getting fewer corporate event bookings.
Pamela Yew, director of marketing, AVANI Sepang Goldcoast Resort, said oil and gas companies have “cut back tremendously on meetings” at the resort since the start of 2015.
“Some companies have issued directives to staff to hold meetings in-house,” she said.
The ones cheering for now are travel companies specialising in out inbound business events.
Arokia Das, senior manager of Luxury Tours Malaysia, observed that the devaluation of the ringgit had resulted in foreign clients gaining spending power.
“Some corporate clients from India have opted for accommodation in five-star international chains, instead of four-star properties and local brands which were originally budgeted for.”
Saini Vermeulen, executive director of Within Earth Holidays, said he had seen more enquiries and confirmations from the Middle East and North Africa regions, with clients going for higher categories of guestrooms and better hotels.
