LANGKAWI – As islanders prepare for the island’s reopening in 10 days, Tourism Langkawi president Ahmad Pishol Isahak is pushing for a gradual approach to build confidence and fine-tune standard operating procedures (SOPs).
He said confusion continues to linger, judging by the lukewarm response to dining in for fully vaccinated individuals.
“Active Covid-19 cases here are still above the 1,000 mark. Before we reopen Langkawi completely, we should look into doing it gradually.
“I think Langkawi should first open itself to residents here for two weeks before it can welcome tourists from other states, and eventually international travellers.
“This will be a stop-gap measure for the travel trade community to improve its readiness – from training staffers to observe the new SOPs to encouraging staffers and residents to be fully vaccinated.
“There is also a need for strong confidence. People will spend if they are convinced that the country is on the right path.”
Besides vaccination, Pishol told The Vibes that the travel trade industry needs precise SOPs when the island reopens, from ensuring tourists are fully masked, establishing safe travel bubbles, physical distancing, and strong personal hygiene, as well as mass screening.
Unfortunately, he added that this was not communicated effectively to the private sector when Langkawi reopened previously, and many travel players were left confused.
“Many others are simply refusing to open because they fear that it remains unsafe, especially with reports of those vaccinated still getting infected, and in some cases, dying.
“We also need to take economic factors into consideration, as domestic appetite might not be strong. Many people have lost their jobs or suffered financial losses as the pandemic continues.”
Pishol said the reopening of tourism should be accompanied by measures from the Finance Ministry and tourism authorities to subsidise the operation costs and offer incentives to encourage people to travel.
He also urged the government to attract new investors as there would be deals worth exploring for attractions, products, and hotels that were closed.
“We need to nurse tourism back to health. But it must be done in a systematic approach. We are already behind our regional competitors such as Phuket and Bali.”
Langkawi is set to reopen its doors to fully vaccinated individuals September 1 onwards. The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry announced that 88,137 of Langkawi’s 108,400 population has been fully vaccinated.
Langkawi is expected to achieve herd immunity by the end of this month. – The Vibes, August 22, 2021
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