LANGKAWI – Despite the hype over Langkawi’s reopening to tourists this week, not all hotels and travellers are benefitting as current conditions are deterring middle and lower income folk from making the trip to the island resort.
Malaysian Association of Hotels’ (MAH) Kedah/Perlis chapter deputy chairman Razmi Rahmat said that, while tourists who can afford flights need not obtain police permits to travel, those commuting by land and sea are required to do so.
He called on the government to come up with uniform standard operating procedures (SOPs) on interstate travel.
“Such double standards need to be changed. We need to streamline the SOPs to reflect fairness and to help in the economic recovery,” Razmi said during a dialogue session with National Recovery Council chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the Danna Hotel here recently.
Present were Deputy Tourism, Culture and Arts Minister Edmund Santhara Kumar Ramanaidu, Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) CEO Nasaruddin Abdul Muttalib and Langkawi district officer Saiful Anwar Azmi.
The Langkawi domestic tourism bubble pilot project’s launch on Thursday saw 1,520 travellers flying into the island on eight flights.
There are about 12,000 registered hotel rooms on the island.
A total of 94% of its population has been fully vaccinated.
Razmi said that, due to the imposition of the police permits for land and sea travel, the process has become cumbersome for many tourists, resulting in low demand for travel among tourists categorised in the working class.
He cited a MAH survey showing that five-star hotels are enjoying higher occupancy rates compared with three-star hotels and below.
Budget accommodation establishments have also recorded poor business, despite the hype surrounding the reopening of the tourism sector on the resort island.
“Those with higher disposable incomes are opting for flights and stay in five-star establishments, whereas the working class who can only afford three-star and below and take the ferry find it difficult to come here because of the travel SOPs.”
He said that the police permit approval needs to be withdrawn for all travellers, provided they meet essential requirements, such as being fully vaccinated, having a good health status and complying with the stringent SOPs.
All tourists also need to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing before entering the island.
Razmi also urged for more financial aid for hotels as many have suffered tremendous losses since the pandemic lockdowns began early last year.
At the dialogue, participants also urged the council to provide subsidies to purchase sanitising equipment and more grants to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) cope with losses they have incurred.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said that the NRC is collaborating with tourism and health authorities to allow fully vaccinated foreign tourists into Langkawi. The foreign tourists will be allowed in on chartered flights only.
If successful, other domestic destinations in Malaysia can then follow this system as part of the national recovery process.
The Perak government had announced on Thursday that domestic tourism at Pulau Pangkor is set to kick off in November, but only via online bookings for accommodation and ferry tickets. – The Vibes, September 18, 2021
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