LANGKAWI – Some 125 overseas tourists who entered Langkawi via the travel bubble tested positive for Covid-19, accounting for 2% of total international arrivals between December and February 20.
In the same period, Langkawi recorded 4,600 foreign tourists. From the 125 individuals who tested positive, majority of them were listed in Categories 1 and 2.
Langkawi Development Authority chief executive officer Nasaruddin Abdul Muttalib, who shared the figures, said those who tested positive were confined to their hotel rooms throughout the seven-day observation period.
Upon recovering, they were allowed to leave their hotels.
Nasaruddin welcomes the National Security Council’s decision to maintain the international tourism bubble but says it should come with revisions to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure that no major clusters emerge here.
Among the new SOPs are for airlines operating out of klia2 to fly to Langkawi, besides the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Foreign tourists now only need to buy travel insurance valued at US$50,000 (RM209,000) instead of US$80,000 previously.
They can also visit other domestic destinations such as Penang after day four of their stay in the bubble here, instead of eight days previously, said Nasaruddin yesterday after a mangrove tree planting ceremony at Kubang Badak.
International tourists, however, need to undergo at least three including one RT-PCR test during their stay on the island resort.
Meanwhile, veteran tourism activist Ahmad Pishol Isahak urged the tourism authorities to redouble their promotional efforts overseas as there is a lull in foreign arrivals.
“Some 4,000 foreign tourists is acceptable, but nothing to brag about. We used to be a leading tourist destination in the region, and we need to restore our reputation.”
While the decision to reopen the borders remains under discussion, Pishol urged the tourism authorities to use this period to improve on their promotional outreach and to establish new tourism attractions as well as improve on their conservation efforts.
He added that the local authorities should use this period to embark on a major cleanliness campaign to ensure that the island’s beauty is preserved in anticipation of higher tourist arrivals when borders are fully reopened – The Vibes, February 22, 2022
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