Malaysian tourists could suffer if the border reopening is delayed much longer

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Malaysia must take steps to prepare for foreign visitors, or it will lose out to other countries.

The president of the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA), Uzaidi Udanis, proposed that Malaysia look at other nations' best practises, such as the Maldives, which had one million foreign visitors last year and had 34 airlines running direct flights into the island.

 

"It's past time for Malaysia to reopen its borders; we must act quickly to avoid being left behind, as neighbouring nations such as Thailand have already taken steps to welcome foreign tourists."

"We may loosen the limitations, but only gradually, to keep the virus at bay by placing requirements on visitors, such as requiring them to be completely vaccinated before entering the nation."

 

Companies had begun returning their loans once the moratorium period ended, but those in the tourism business were particularly battling to recover losses suffered due to the pandemic, according to Uzaidi.

He claimed that they were currently reliant on the domestic market for survival, but that they were unable to optimise it, citing online hotel bookings via worldwide websites and untapped tourism potentials as examples.

 

People were able to celebrate the Chinese New Year in the new normal after not being able to do so during the early days of the epidemic, thanks to the relaxing of Covid-19 restrictions, he claimed, as they warmed up to the concept of living with the virus.

This, he said, was reinforced by the fact that, as part of its initiatives to safeguard the community from illnesses, Malaysia has one of the highest immunisation rates in the world.

He said that the government's previous initiatives, such as the Langkawi international tourism travel bubble pilot project and the Singapore-Malaysia Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL), had been favourably received, and that the international borders should be reopened entirely.

 

If the government decides to reopen the borders, he believes the government should reassess the harsh requirements imposed on foreign visitors.

"For example, a client from the United Kingdom told me that while on an eight-day trip to Langkawi, he had to take Covid-19 tests every day.
The government should reconsider because the severe requirements will deter potential clients, putting the industry in jeopardy in the long run."

Meanwhile, Datuk Dr N.K.S. Tharmaseelan, the former president of the Malaysian Medical Association, proposed reopening borders in phases to travellers from countries that were not considered high-risk.

 

"They must still produce proof of having received both their immunizations and booster shots (as all Malaysians must) as well as verification of negative results before travelling."
Alternatively, they could be offered a shorter quarantine period of a few days with limitations and conditions.

"While public health must be prioritised, we must also consider economic sustainability and return the country to some form of normalcy," he said.

He added the number of daily confirmed Covid-19 cases had dropped to roughly 2,000 to 3,000 per day in the recent fortnight.

 

He said that about 99 percent of daily new instances were in Categories One and Two, which had minimal or minor symptoms, demonstrating that Malaysia was on track with vaccinations and boosters.

"Every industry plays a vital role.
The majority of the varieties were imported from other countries.
As a result, international visitors, particularly those from high-risk countries, should be closely monitored, with rigorous adherence to SOPs, immunizations and boosters, as well as tests.

"We're doing pretty well (in containing the virus).
So, in the future, reopening the borders and gradually removing some restrictions in accordance with the scenario and circumstances should be the strategy.
We cannot simply remove all constraints because that would be disastrous.