KUALA LUMPUR – The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac) is exploring the possibility of having travel bubble arrangements with green-zone countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, said its minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She said the ministry had held consultations with several government agencies and tourism industry representatives to identify mechanisms to reopen cross-border tourism activities in a safe and systematic manner.
“The mechanisms being explored by the ministry include destination to destination or island tours in small groups, especially for golf, diving, scuba diving, bird watching, hiking and caving activities.
“The travel itineraries will first be approved by the authorities involved and travel arrangements will be made by licenced travel agencies,” she said during her winding-up debate at the committee stage of the Supply Bill 2021 for the ministry at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Nancy said these were among initiatives contained in the Tourism and Cultural Recovery Plans in efforts to restore the country’s tourism sector, which had been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said these initiatives will restore public confidence in travel and tourism activities, which will revitalise domestic tourism and encourage industry players to offer more creative and attractive travel packages through digital platforms.
Earlier, Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik (PH-Balik Pulau), when debating the bill, asked the minister to give details on the Tourism and Cultural Recovery Plans, which according to him, had no target definition.
The committee-level Supply Bill 2021 for Motac was later passed through bloc voting, which saw 109 MPs in favour, 96 against and 15 absent.
Five government MPs and five opposition MPs participated in the debate on the bill. – Bernama, December 8, 2020
