LANGKAWI – Would you like to spend your 10-day quarantine on a sun-kissed resort island?
The Tourism Langkawi chief today suggested that the National Security Council and Health Ministry allow all inbound foreign travellers to stay at the island resort for their 10-day quarantine period to help the travel industry cope with low arrivals.
Ahmad Pishol Isahak said that as domestic tourists head back to work and the school term resumes next week, arrivals here are expected to plunge.
He added while other cities can count on their residents to help ease the shortfall in tourist numbers, Langkawi is dependent on travellers as its domestic population of less than 100,000 is too small to sustain domestic consumption.
In addition, many foreigners have left Langkawi due to the tight conditions imposed on yachties and those with long-term visas.
The advantage of quarantining at Langkawi is that foreigners are allowed to travel around the island and undergo Covid-19 testing at least three times throughout their 10-day stay here.
Meanwhile, Tourism Langkawi will be organising an event to allow each state to showcase their tourist attractions.
“From hotels to eateries and attractions as well as culture, heritage and arts, we are inviting the travel trade community to come and participate in the bazaar.”
He said this can help boost domestic travel in the first quarter.
For now, the island resort is advocating a tourism bubble for foreign travellers who must sign up for a localised package and use local travel agencies throughout their stay.
Exemptions are accorded to expatriates who have purchased homes here, or those under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) scheme.
Foreigners who wish to visit the country are compelled to quarantine at Kuala Lumpur for 10 days before continuing their journey unless they are part of the tourism bubble, have homes in Langkawi, or are under the MM2H scheme.
Pishol said the coming months will be challenging for Langkawi as the excitement of the reopening of tourism has dissipated.
“I think reality is going to bite. With the blanket moratorium ending, consumers are likely to withhold spending.”
He added that In the pre-pandemic era, travel trade players here could depend on the international market until April, but there are hardly any foreigners coming now, even though the island is an international tourism bubble.
Langkawi is also struggling to entice chartered flights unlike its competitors in the region – Phuket in Thailand and Bali in Indonesia, said Pishol.
He added that going by the restrictions placed due to the Omicron variant, full loads of foreign tourists can only be expected during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri period in May and June.
As much as the country desires foreign tourists, he said, the current global recession and inflation have made travelling more expensive compared to pre-2020. – The Vibes, January 6, 2021
