The move is to revive Malaysia’s ailing domestic tourism sector and prepare the nation to live in an endemic phase.
“Hopeful” and “euphoric” best describe the feelings of the players in Malaysia’s travel sector and Malaysians on the lifting of domestic travel restriction starting October 11, after almost a year of not being able to move within one’s country (interstate travel ban was imposed in early January).
For the travel sector it’s the lifeline it has been waiting for since the pandemic hit the country early last year. Hotels and tourist attractions throughout Malaysia are ready to welcome back the much needed tourists, with all SOPs in place, as they have anticipated the opening more than a month ago.
For Malaysian, it’s liberation day as they are not only able to go “Cuti-Cuti Malaysia” (holiday in Malaysia) but also to “balik kampung” (return to one’s village/hometown) to see parents and loved ones.
In lifting the interstate travel ban and allowing fully-vaxxed Malaysians to go overseas, the Malaysian government has kept its promise to do so when 90% of its adult population (21.07 million individuals) are fully vaxxed, which was reached on October 10.
Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob made the much-anticipated announcement during a televised press conference on the same day. He said that as the ministry of health has confirmed the vaccination rate for the adult population has reached 90%, “accordingly, the government has agreed to allow (those) who have been fully vaccinated to travel interstate without having to apply for police permission from October 11.”
The premier added that fully vaccinated Malaysian citizens are also permitted to travel overseas, including for tourism purposes, without having to apply for the MyTravelPass from the Immigration Department. Previously, only those who had to go on essential trips, such as for work or studies, were permitted to do so through the MyTravelPass scheme.
Malaysians travelling abroad, however, must perform swab test three days before returning to the country from their trip abroad. They must also undergo self-quarantine for 14 days upon arriving, which now can be done at home.
Malaysia’s borders are still close to foreigners wishing to enter for tourism activities, said Ismail Sabri. “Our gates are not yet open, except for emergencies, business and official purposes,”
He added an announcement on the reopening of the country’s borders to international visitors could be soon, as the health ministry is assessing which nations would be safe.
The success of the Langkawi travel bubble pilot project, launched on September 16, is one of the factors influencing the reopening of the states for tourism. The pilot scheme, with strict adherence to SOPs, showed travel is safe despite opening amid high infections (in five digits then). The island received 60,504 domestic tourists, generating RM24.9 million (US$5.97 million) in revenue as of October 6.
Penang, which has seen a sharp drop in international arrivals since the pandemic struck, is also open for business, with the hope to revive the downtrend. According to data from the Penang Institute, although domestic tourism fared better than international tourism it was still severely affected. Last year, domestic tourist declined by 29.6% while excursionists dipped by 46.3%, resulting in an estimated loss of (domestic) receipts of RM3.6 billion.
But now that travel throughout the country is permitted, the island expects to welcome 50,000 visitors the first weekend after the lifting of travel curbs, according to Yeoh Soon Hin, the state executive councillor in charge of tourism and creative economy.
“Conservatively, we can expect an increase in hotel occupancy rate of between 60 to 70% this weekend,” he said.
Many of the island’s tourism attractions have been opened since October 1 – 14 to date with another two more set to open over the next few weeks. Among them are The Habitat Penang Hill, Tropical Spice Garden, Tropical Fruit Farm and Penang Bird Park .
According to Association of Tourist Attractions Penang (ATAP) chairman Ch’ng Huck Theng, the number of local visitors to these places is still very low, but all the attractions are hopeful that the numbers will increase with the lifting of the ban on interstate travel.
The country’s two main airlines are celebrating the relaxation of interstate travel with special fares and flights.
Malaysia Airlines is offering airfares as low as RM59 all-in one way and up to 50% discount on MHholiday packages. Its group chief executive officer Captain Izham Ismail said: “The lifting of the interstate travel ban will give a fantastic boost to businesses and improve the socio-economic situation of the people impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.” The airline has seen healthy forward flight bookings domestically.
Meanwhile, AirAsia kickstarts the resumption of interstate travel with the operation of a daily flight schedule of 61 flights across its 16 domestic destinations. It is also offering fares from RM12 one way for flights from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Johor Bahru, Terengganu and Kota Bharu .
The budget carrier has made it mandatory for only fully vaccinated adult guests to board its flights, and they have to check in via the airasia Super App.
Four major Malaysian tourism players have also united to form an alliance to ramp up the destination readiness and reopening of leisure and business events
The four are the Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS), Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) and the Malaysia Aviation Group (comprising Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and MASwings).
They have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the Travel Safe Alliance (TSA) Malaysia with the focus to position the country as a safe destination for leisure and business travellers.
“This collaboration is a key move that will set Malaysia on the path to tourism and business events recovery. TSA Malaysia will provide unequivocal assurance to travellers and business events delegates that Malaysia is safe and ready to welcome international visitors to our shores,” said Francis Teo, president of MACEOS.
• Featured image credit – River cruise along Tahan River in Taman Negara, Pahang, Malaysia: ThamKC/Getty Images
