LANGKAWI – Following the opening of domestic tourism in Langkawi, the National Recovery Council (NRC) is now collaborating with tourism and health authorities to allow fully vaccinated foreign tourists to the resort island.
Council chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the proposition can become a reality within months once the bubble approach is fully adopted in Langkawi for domestic visitors.
He said foreign tourists would 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 announced yesterday that domestic tourism at Pulau Pangkor is set to kick off in November, but only via online bookings for accommodation and ferry tickets.
The foreign tourists will not be subjected to a 14-day quarantine but the standard operating procedures can be fine-tuned to meet safety, security and healthcare concerns, Muhyiddin told a press conference at Danna Hotel here last night.
“Tourism is the most affected (economic) sector so we need to find ways to revive it soon and in an organised way,” the former prime minister said.
The Langkawi domestic tourism bubble pilot project, which was launched yesterday, saw a total of 1,520 travellers flying into Langkawi on eight flights.
There are about 12,000 registered hotel rooms on the island, where 94% of its registered local population has been fully vaccinated.
Muhyiddin said the emphasis is on speeding up the economic recovery process, and it will involve full commitment from both the private and public sectors.
The NRC is receptive to innovative approaches that can fast-track recovery, but not at the expense of sacrificing lives or livelihoods, he stressed.
Muhyiddin also supported a proposal to drop the requirement for police permits from those wanting to travel by land or sea to Langkawi, especially since those flying in are permitted to travel without such permits.
But the National Security Council has the final say on the matter, he added.
On another matter, Muhyiddin touched on the possibility of raising the ceiling rate for bankruptcy from the present RM50,000 to RM100,000 to allow small and medium enterprises a chance to recover from the financial wreck caused by Covid-19 and pandemic-related lockdowns.
Stressing that vaccination is vital, he encouraged everyone to get their jabs to help the country recover more quickly from the pandemic and allow society to migrate to the endemic phase of coexisting with the virus. – The Vibes, September 17, 2021
