Malaysia

High time for Sabah to open doors to Singapore via VTL: minister

Datuk Jafry Ariffin says move will revive state’s economy, tourism sector

Updated 4 years ago · Published on 06 Mar 2022 3:34PM

High time for Sabah to open doors to Singapore via VTL: minister
Sabah’s touris minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin says the ministry has recommended reopening its doors to visitors from Singapore via VTL and is awaiting approval from the state Covid-19 Disaster Management Committee. – Pixabay pic, March 6, 2022

by Rebecca Chong

KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah government is considering reopening its doors to tourists from Singapore via the Vaccination Travel Lane (VTL) to revive the state’s tourism sector. 

Sabah’s Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said that the ministry had recommended this to the state Covid-19 Disaster Management Committee for consideration and is now awaiting approval. 

“It is to allow fully vaccinated individuals to travel to and from Singapore via air travel.  

“It is time for Sabah to follow the steps of several states such as Penang, which will start its VTL initiative this coming March 16,” he said in a statement today. 

Jafry said that such a move is important for the recovery of the economic and business network between Malaysia and Singapore, especially in the tourism sector, which has been badly hit by the pandemic. 

“I am sure that the ministry and tourism industry players in Sabah are ready to receive foreign tourists coupled with stricter standard operating procedures to avoid the spread of the Omicron variant in the state,” he added. –The Vibes, March 6, 2022

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