SARAWAK tourism players will have to wait a little longer to restart their battered businesses as the group tour and travel “bubble” for recovery movement-control order (RMCO) areas announced by Putrajaya yesterday does not apply to the state.

State Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Abdul Karim Hamzah told The Malaysian Insight the state has a different standard operating procedure (SOP) on people’s movement.

Sarawak’s inter-zone travel ban is still in force until March 15.

“What was announced by Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday is for (the peninsula) only,” Karim said.

Karim said the state’s disaster management committee will study the latest lifting of travel restrictions in the peninsula that is aimed at restarting the travel and tour industry.

“Sarawak has its own SOP and will adopt the federal SOP (when) it deems appropriate,” he added.

He, however, said the state’s tourism industry players should remain optimistic and be prepared for the reopening of the industry.

Karim said with the mass vaccination now ongoing, reopening is just a matter of time.

Ismail Sabri said tour and travel from one RMCO area to another, and within a RMCO area comes into effect from today.

Described as a “targeted domestic tourism bubble”, travellers must sign up with Tourism Arts and Culture Ministry-recognised tour agencies and cannot stop in any state that is under conditional MCO.

Personal travel for tourism in private vehicles is still not allowed. – March 10, 2021.