THE tourism sector views the lifting of the ban on travel between states under the recovery movement control order as the first step towards revival of the industry. 

The government has allowed domestic tourism to resume within certain constraints.

Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) president Albert Tan told The Malaysian Insight the sector was looking forward to seeing more restrictions eased, including reopening of the borders to international tourists.

It will help local travel agencies and tour bus companies to get out of their financial doldrums, he said.
 
“Tour bus operators have had nearly zero income in the past few months and have been unable to pay their bills,” he said.
 
After a sluggish past year, Tan said the industry was planning new ways to attract tourists.
 
“We were waiting for the vaccine. And now that it’s here,  we’re waiting for more people to be vaccinated so that governments worldwide will start allowing people to travel.

Tan said new travel packages were ready and the sector was just waiting for the green light to proceed with its plans.
 
In the meantime, he said domestic tourism was not a revenue maker for everyone in the sector.

Real recovery will only take place with the resumption of international tourism, he said.
  
“What’s really needed is speedy vaccination of the people so that we can open for international tourists from markets such as China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.”

Have money, will travel

Malaysia Tourism Council president Uzaidi Udanis hoped government servants would drive the recovery of the tourism industry.
 
“According to data from before Covid-19, civil servants are willing to spend money on travel. And compared to other industries, the salaries of civil servants were not much reduced during the pandemic,” Uzaidi said.
  
“People have also discovered more local tourist attractions, which I believe will be the next hotspots.
 
Uzaidi said tour operators had been prepared for Visit Truly Asia Malaysia 2020 when the pandemic struck.
 
“Everyone was ready to welcome guests but the pandemic arrived instead. Now we can restart the plan with hopes of recovery this year or next.”
 
He said the state governments could assist by making sure the tourist attractions were not crowded and that strict health protocols were maintained.
 
He predicted the tourists would be back with a vengeance after long confinement at home due to Covid-19.
 
It was necessary that everyone abided by the SOP to avoid another MCO, he said.
 
“We want to have our business up and running and we hope for crowds, but we don’t want another MCO which will make things worse.”
  
Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Tan Kok Liang said it was too early to say whether permission to travel between RMCO states will have a meaningful impact on the tourism sector.

“We need to understand that many of the main markets for local tourism are in areas that are still under a CMCO, such as Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Penang.”
  
He called on the government to consider imposing restrictions on specific zones instead of on the entire state.

Currently, the states and territories under a CMCO are Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Sarawak, and Perak.
 
Langkawi in Kedah, Malacca, Pahang, Terengganu, Sabah, Putrajaya, Perlis, and Labuan are under an RMCO.
  
Travel for tourism is allowed between the RMCO states but only travel agencies registered with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry are allowed to conduct the tours.
 
Holidaymakers are forbidden from travelling to and from their itineraries by private vehicle. – March 12, 2021.