Traders in Cameron Highlands are worried over their business being severely hit by the drop in the number of tourists to the resort following the recent landslides and flash floods.

Restaurant and resort operators are among the worst hit as their income have plunged by more than 50 per cent inspite of the current school holiday season.

They foresee that if the situation persists until the end of the year, they may be forced to close down their businesses.

Manager of Madani Hotel in Tanah Rata, Siti Aminah Mohd Ali, 54, said since the landslides and flash floods occurred, many people had cancelled their hotel bookings.

Usually during the year-end school holidays, her 33 hotel rooms would be fully booked especially on weekends, but this holiday season there were two to five bookings only, she told Bernama in Cameron Highlands today.

Siti Aminah said many called to cancel their bookings as they were afraid of any untoward incident in view of the current rainy season.

“This year, the situation is bad because usually during the school holidays we were able to earn as much as RM5,000 a day but now after five days, there is only one customer,” she lamented.

She said people should not fear as the flood and landslide incidents only occurred in Bertam Valley and Ringlet, not at the tourist spots.

“I think tourists would return here if the government changed the perception towards Cameron Highlands as a safe place to visit,” she said.

A restaurant operator, Mohd Ibrahim Syazwan, 41, said his business too suffered as during the school holidays, he could usually take home RM3,000 to RM4,000 a day.

    

“Now it is so difficult to earn RM1,000 as there are no visitors. I have been operating here for more than 15 years and the situation has never been like this,” he said.

Even the lively and busy Brinchang night market is now quiet and deserted.

A trader, who wanted to be known only as Ming, said business had never been the same as the number of visitors to Cameron Highlands dropped since the disaster.

Usually in December, the night market would be thronged by local and foreign tourists, said Ming who has been running her mother’s strawberry and sweet potato stall for more than 20 years.

- Bernama