KOTA KINABALU – Sabah is looking at the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Malaysia and Singapore as a first step to revive tourism in the state.
Its Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said the resumption of the VTL could be the ticket to reopen Sabah to travellers.
“As you all know, the state tourism industry has been badly affected (due to the pandemic).
“But we are getting requests from Singapore, China and even some European countries for their citizens to visit Sabah.
“Sabah has not yet gotten the approval to allow the entry of foreign travellers, but we will try to ask (permission) from the state cabinet and also the National Security Council (NSC) to include us in the VTL,” he told reporters here during his ministry’s Excellence Award Ceremony.
Yesterday, the country as a whole resumed the VTL between Malaysia and Singapore with an updated procedure, which includes reducing 50% of the quota from the previous capacity for bus and flights.
Jafry said he will present his requests to include Sabah in the VTL to the state cabinet and NSC as soon as possible, expressing hope that the authorities will allow direct connectivity between Singapore and Kota Kinabalu.
“Although the rate of entries has been reduced by 50%, the tourism industry between the two nations have been restarted.
“With a VTL connecting Kota Kinabalu and Singapore, at least we can implement our tourism effort and tourist arrivals can be increased.
“I am certain the state (administration) and NSC also want to revive the tourism industry in Sabah, and if they approve the application, we will initiate it as fast as we can,” he said.
Several Sabah tourism and business groups recently called for the reopening of the sector to international visitors, stating that foreign tourists are the “big spenders” when compared to domestic tourists.
However, Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, who is also official Covid-19 spokesman for the, shot down the idea.
He explained that it would be awkward if Sabah opens its doors while other countries are still restricting their nationals from travelling abroad. – The Vibes, January 22, 2022
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