State Borders Kickstart Domestic Tourism With Vehicles Registered With Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry only
While the Covid-19 immunisation programme are still under early stage, government has decided to reopen some state border to kickstart domestic tourism as the National Security Council (NSC) has decided to allow holidaymakers to travel between states under the recovery movement control order (RMCO) with vehicle registered with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) only. The honorary secretary-general of Malaysian Associatio of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) mentioned that using travel agent is a good idea where the group travels can be ensured are following to the SOP.
Wong also said that families booking holidays through these approved agents could request to lease a smaller vehicle to cater to their specific needs, and not all packages required bus or coach. However, Penang MAH branch chairman Raj Kumar felt that streamlining travel packages through government approved companies will let some tourism industry breathe due to the recent bad effect, but the impact on such measure with the largest demographic group of domestic travellers from Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Penang which are still under conditional MCO are generally barred from crossing state border and even thou with the permission to travel with the MOTAC administration, the amount of tourist from these major domestic state are still getting affected due to the current CMCO.
While Healthcare expert disagrees with the form of long term travel which involves sharing vehicles other than their close relative especially on these coach bus. Dr Khoo Yoong Khean, managing editor of the Malaysian Medical Gazette, was apprehensive that the government’s move to save the flagging tourism industry may not have been fully thought through, and warned that half-baked policies could undo all the hard work put in by medical workers against the pandemic. Where he finds that private vehicles will be harder to control in terms of getting permit but it might be actually safer.
However, Matta Sec-gen Wong said that the travel industry needs a concrete roadmap to go forward with the new norm and not some new regulation which will give them short notice again. While Raj commended the government on the recent initiatives in the Pemerkasa package where it will be a more of holistic stimulus coverage is required by the industry during the time to wait everyone to get vaccinated.
And to return to a normal day, it will certainly take some times, where the 2021 is just the year of recovery, 2022 for moving into the lifestyle of the new norm and only by 2023 thing should be much more better commented by Raj.
