ISLAND resorts in Terengganu – for long popular tourist magnets – have yet to see an influx of visitors even though they have been opened for domestic travel since the middle of this month, hoteliers said.

Business owners told The Malaysian Insight they are disappointed with the low visitor turnout to their resorts. 

They said they are ready to shut down again, and only reopen when the situation is completely safe. This is to prevent further losses, they added. 

Owner of a resort and chalet in Pulau Kapas, Yahaya Mamat said he was a bit shocked by the small number of visitors as the island was famous among the locals. 

He has been running the business for the past seven years and said the island was so close to the Marang jetty and only takes 20 minutes by boat or ferry. 

“Pulau Kapas is famous among locals because it is the closest island to Kuala Terengganu. 

“But since it reopened, very few people have visited. It is not what we expected. 

“The crowd was a little bigger on Malaysia Day but after that our resort became empty again,” he said. 

He said the lacklustre response could be due to the fact many people in the state have not completed their vaccination course. 

The tourism sector in Terengganu started to reopen for domestic tourists starting September 1 when the state moved to Phase 3 of the national recovery plan (NRP). 

However islands resorts decided to delay the reopening to mid-September to allow them to be better prepared. 

The tourism sector in this state was badly affected when the movement-control order was reinforced in June. 

It left many entrepreneurs and residents who depended on tourism for income in the doldrums. 

The Terengganu government estimated the sector lost about 500,000 tourists this year due to movement restrictions. 

Under the NRP, restrictions are eased based on several phases. Interstate travels are allowed for those in Phase 2 and have completed their two doses of vaccines. 

Apart from Pulau Kapas, popular island destinations such as Pangkor, Redang, Tioman and Perhentian were also allowed to reopen for local travellers from that particular state while Langkawi was opened under the tourism bubble programme to allow international tourists.

Out-of-state, foreign travellers wanted

While restrictions have been eased and islands reopened, not all operators in Pulau Perhentian decided to open for business again. 

According to the Pulau Perhentian Resort and Tourism Operators Association, only 16 owners have decided to reopen for business.

Its chairman Abdul Aziz Che Abdullah said they were waiting for resorts in Terengganu to be opened to all vaccinated individuals, including out-of-state and foreign travellers, just like in Langkawi. 

“If you want to expect domestic tourists, it is difficult. Moreover, for Pulau Perhentian business owners, we depend on local tourists from outside Terengganu, especially from Kelantan.

“Because Pulau Perhentian borders Kelantan, this island will be the choice of the people in the state. 

“But we understand it is not easy for the National Security Council to make a decision because there are many things to consider.” 

Operators on Pulau Redang also saw minimal presence of tourists as only about 10% from the usual number of people visited the island since its reopening. 

Redang Bay resort operator Lim You Jing said due the low number of visitors, only four of the 13 resorts on the island decided to operate. 

“Others, including myself, are still closed because if we rely only on people in the state, it is difficult. 

“If we open, we will lose more because we can only open for a month before we need to close again due to the monsoon season. The cost will be higher.” 

He added that strict standard operating procedure may be one of the reasons why tourists from other states are less attracted to visit the island. 

Lim, however, did not agree that resort islands such as Redang should also be used as a tourism bubble similar to Langkawi for experiment. 

“For us, Langkawi is clearly a failure, and we do not want that in Redang. If we open through the tourism bubble and the cases go up, eventually we will be forced to close again. 

“If this scenario of opening and then closing repeats, it is difficult for us to survive,” he said. 

He said one of the best ways to solve the problem was to hope that the Covid-19 cases go down and only then would the owners be confident to open their businesses. 

“When the cases go down and the situation improves, then we can open. That is our hope, that this year the situation will improve,” he said. – September 20, 2021.