KOTA KINABALU: Sabah tourism players now have a clear direction to prepare for the reopening of the tourism sector following the statement by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac).
Sabah Association of Travel and Tour Agents (Satta) chairman Datuk Seri Winston Liaw said the Motac proposal to revive the tourism industry in stages was in tune with the Sabah government's intensified immunisation programme to inoculate 60 per cent of the population by October.
To expedite the inoculation progress, Satta proposed that tour buses which have been parked for 16 months to be converted as mobile centres to vaccinate plantation workers in interior areas.
While Motac is in the midst of reviving the tourism sector in stages, he said non-governmental organisations should take the initiative to organise events, for example, Satta will hold the Sabah Virtual Travel Fair on Sept 16-29 to prepare for the reopening of domestic and international arrivals.
"We urge all tourism related industries to support the travel fair to stimulate the state's economy. We also seek the participation of the airlines industry as a special participation fee of RM750 will be offered to them," said Liaw.
"Satta encourages all tourism related industries to support the travel fair and work as a team to revive the economy. Furthermore, the participants can apply for subsidies from Galakan Melancong (Gamelan) under Tourism Malaysia," he added.
Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Sabah chairman Hafizan Wong also welcomed Motac's proposal to the National Security Council (NSC) to reactivate tourism activities in phases.
"We also fully support the idea of it being reinstated in stages for the sake of everyone's safety and wellbeing.
"In short, Motac is proposing four phases of activation; phase 1 is within the district, phase 2 is inter inter-district, phase 3 is inter-state and phase 4 is international and inbound tourism activities.
"The tourism and hotel industry has suffered greatly but all players acknowledge that the start must be done gradually and deliberately to ensure an even and most importantly, positive recovery," said Wong.
In terms of readiness, he said Sabah's hotels, travel agents, tour guides and other related tourism players have been preparing and practicing all the standard operating procedures (SOPs) made necessary and mandatory by NSC and Motac.
He reiterated that all the tourism industry staff must get vaccinated as soon as possible as they are the frontliners, adding that it was essential that they are accorded protection not only for their safety, but for guests and the tourism economy.
Sabah Tourist Association (STA) chairman Tonny Chew said: "At least now we have a clearer picture as Motac has came out with a guideline to serve as our reference on how we are going to reposition ourselves."
However, he suggested a detailed index or benchmark for each phase was needed to let them adjust their budget projection to synchronise with the proposed phases so that they can survive through the pandemic.
"But Motac also needs to ensure the plan is well communicated and synchronised with other relevant agencies and departments. It must be coordinated because we cannot move alone," said Chew.
The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Sabah chairman Lawrence Chin also accepted Motac's proposal and roadmap in opening Sabah in their phase 2 plan.
"It will be even better if the government can fast track the vaccination of all tourism workers in Sabah like those in Sarawak and Pulau Langkawi. This will help to save thousand of jobs in the industry which employs mostly Sabah locals," Chin said.
Motac had announced yesterday it was proposing to the NSC to reactivate tourism activities and Sabah has been slated for the second phase under a framework which is divided into three phases.