Malaysia’s food entrepreneurs bank on tech and innovation to survive Covid-19 lockdowns Ushar Daniele in Kuala Lumpur Rizal Van Geyzel temporarily transformed his comedy club in Kuala Lumpur’s upmarket Taman Tun Dr Ismail suburb into a pizzeria amid the pandemic. Photo: Farhan Iqbal
Running a restaurant is never easy, but in Malaysia, where eating out is practically a national pastime, successful establishments have long thrived by virtue of their reputation and seen little reason to innovate.
Then came March 2020 and the country s first partial coronavirus lockdown, sending chefs and restaurant owners scrambling for ways to stay afloat - seeking aid from the government, rental relief from landlords and urgently looking to pivot towards food-delivery apps.
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New five-star hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand, first since pandemic began, to be opened by Spanish chain Melia A room at the Melia Chiang Mai, which will open in the city centre of Chiang Mai, Thailand, in the fourth quarter of this year. Photo: Handout
Like many cities in Southeast Asia that rely heavily on tourism, Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. With no international tourists having arrived for 18 months, most small tourism-related companies have simply gone out of business.
Occupancy in 40 Chiang Mai hotels surveyed by the Northern Chapter of the Thai Hotels Association has been less than 10 per cent throughout 2021, according to its president, La-iad Bungsrithong, and more than 70 per cent of people in tourism-related businesses have lost their jobs since the pandemic began.